Lightning Labs has released "Taproot Assets" on the Bitcoin blockchain, allowing for the issuance of stablecoins and other financial assets built atop Bitcoin via the Lightning Network. The new set of developer tools will enable Bitcoin to become a multi-asset network, taking the protocol to the next financial level. Lightning Labs Director of Business Development Ryan Gentry believes that Taproot Assets will provide a "decentralizing force" to the Lightning Network, shifting more of the world's transactional volume to the Lightning Network and "Bitcoinizing the dollar and the world's financial assets." The release of Taproot Assets has been cheered on by prominent members of the crypto community.