News 
January 31, 2025 
3 min. 
Tether has announced the integration of its stablecoin, USDT, with the Bitcoin network via the Lightning Network, aiming for faster and more cost-effective transactions. The news was revealed during the Plan ₿ Forum in El Salvador. The event featured Tether’s CEO, Paolo Ardoino, and Lightning Labs’ CEO, Elizabeth Stark.
Tether will integrate USDT with the Lightning Network
The integration is made possible by the Taproot Assets protocol, developed by Lightning Labs, which extends Bitcoin’s network capabilities to support tokenized assets. This allows merchants who already accept Bitcoin via Lightning to add USDT as a payment option using the same infrastructure.
Paolo Ardoino emphasized that this initiative strengthens Bitcoin’s fundamental principles, offering practical solutions for remittances, payments, and other financial applications that require speed and reliability.
With a market capitalization of $140 billion, USDT is the largest stablecoin on the market and is widely used for payments, remittances, and savings, especially in emerging markets. Its integration with the Lightning Network aims to further expand its reach and utility.
Lightning Labs highlighted that this integration also paves the way for a new wave of transactions between artificial intelligence agents and autonomous vehicles, in addition to enabling micropayments in USDT on the Lightning Network.
This move represents a significant step in the convergence of stablecoins and the Bitcoin network, enhancing the use of USDT in applications that require fast and low-cost transactions, while leveraging Bitcoin’s inherent security and decentralization.
