What Happened on May. 17th | Issue Assets on Bitcoin Lightning Network
The recent spike of BRC-20 on the bitcoin blockchain has caused transaction fees to skyrocket, making standard bitcoin transactions prohibitively expensive for many users. As no one will wants to modify the bitcoin base layer, the only option is to utilize a Layer 2 scaling solution to support these new use cases.
The Lightning Network is a second layer payment protocol that operates on top of the Bitcoin blockchain. It was introduced to address the issues of scalability, transaction speed, and cost in the Bitcoin network. By creating off-chain transactions and payment channels, the Lightning Network enables instant and near-zero fee transactions while reducing the load on the main blockchain.
Below is a visualization of the Lightning Network at the moment. It is a growing network of interconnected nodes connected by payment channels.
Lightning network graph: Visualization of nodes and channels

The New Taproot Assets Protocol on Lightning Network will allow:
- Assets to be issued on the bitcoin blockchain
- Leverage taproot for privacy and scalability
- Assets can be deposited into Lightning channels
- Assets can be transferred over the existing Lightning Network.
Biggest Gainers & Losers

Headlines
Tether to Allocate 15% of Profit to Purchase Bitcoin: Tether plans to allocate up to 15% of its net realized operating profits towards Bitcoin (BTC) purchases
Hot projects on the market
Lightning Network Released Taproot Assets Protocol to Issue Assets on Bitcoin and Lightning
Starknet-based DEX JediSwap to Receive 150K $STRK via Early Adopter Grants
BRC-20 DEX BitX Announces Tokenomics
Axie Infinity to Launch on Apple App Store in Latin America and Asia Markets
Other news in case you missed it:
Coinbase to Provide $USDC-related Products and Staking Service in Singapore
HM Treasury Committee Calls on UK Government to Regulate Crypto Like Gambling
Ledger to Support Cosmos Ecosystem Tokens
Bancor Face Class Action Lawsuit due to Failed Impermanent Loss Protection
Montenegrin Prosecution Appeals Decision to Grants Bail to Do Kwon
Fundraising
DeFi Protocol Hourglass Raises $4.2M in Seed Round Led by Electric Capital
Story Protocol Closes $29.3 Million Seed Round Led by a16z Crypto
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