Lightning Labs raises $70M to bring stablecoins to Bitcoin
Bitcoin software firm Lightning Labs has secured another large funding round. The $70 million Series B funding round will enable Lightning Labs to further work on the Lightning Network in order to achieve faster, cheaper Bitcoin and stablecoin transactions.
The funding round was led by Valor Equity Partners, with participation from Baillie Gifford, Goldcrest Capital, and several other angel investors.
Lightning Labs is said to use the new funding to further develop its new protocol called Taro. Taro is said to enable stablecoins to be transferred using the Lightning Network. Although Lightning Labs will not issue its own stablecoins, the infrastructure will allow them to be sent over the network.
The firm believes that Taro will enable further Bitcoin adoption as it potentially allows the unbanked to send money in a stable way.
Elizabeth Stark, CEO and co-founder of Lightning Labs, said:
"If I were Visa, I'd be scared because there are a lot of people out there that have mobile phones, but now don't need to tap into the traditional system."
The Lightning Network is currently being used extensively in El Salvador. El Salvador is the first country in the world to make Bitcoin legal tender.
