diff --git a/itest/assertions.go b/itest/assertions.go
index a4d3e5a6d..c0b09dd0a 100644
--- a/itest/assertions.go
+++ b/itest/assertions.go
@@ -990,13 +990,15 @@ func AssertUniverseRootEquality(t *testing.T,
 	))
 }
 
+// AssertUniverseRoot makes sure the given universe root exists with the given
+// sum, either identified by the asset ID or group key.
 func AssertUniverseRoot(t *testing.T, client unirpc.UniverseClient,
-	sum int, assetID []byte, groupKey []byte) error {
+	sum int, assetID []byte, groupKey []byte) {
 
 	bothSet := assetID != nil && groupKey != nil
 	neitherSet := assetID == nil && groupKey == nil
 	if bothSet || neitherSet {
-		return fmt.Errorf("only set one of assetID or groupKey")
+		t.Fatalf("only set one of assetID or groupKey")
 	}
 
 	// Re-parse and serialize the keys to account for the different
@@ -1033,8 +1035,6 @@ func AssertUniverseRoot(t *testing.T, client unirpc.UniverseClient,
 
 	correctRoot := fn.Any(maps.Values(uniRoots.UniverseRoots), matchingRoot)
 	require.True(t, correctRoot)
-
-	return nil
 }
 
 func AssertUniverseRootEqual(a, b *unirpc.UniverseRoot) bool {
diff --git a/itest/loadtest/mint_batch_test.go b/itest/loadtest/mint_batch_test.go
index a01ce6452..7803b4619 100644
--- a/itest/loadtest/mint_batch_test.go
+++ b/itest/loadtest/mint_batch_test.go
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ package loadtest
 
 import (
 	"context"
+	_ "embed"
 	"encoding/binary"
 	"encoding/hex"
 	"fmt"
@@ -10,8 +11,6 @@ import (
 	"testing"
 	"time"
 
-	_ "embed"
-
 	"github.com/btcsuite/btcd/rpcclient"
 	"github.com/lightninglabs/taproot-assets/fn"
 	"github.com/lightninglabs/taproot-assets/itest"
@@ -161,10 +160,7 @@ func mintBatchStressTest(t *testing.T, ctx context.Context,
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 	require.Len(t, uniRoots.UniverseRoots, groupCount)
 
-	err = itest.AssertUniverseRoot(
-		t, alice, groupBalance, nil, collectGroupKey,
-	)
-	require.NoError(t, err)
+	itest.AssertUniverseRoot(t, alice, groupBalance, nil, collectGroupKey)
 
 	// The universe tree should also have a leaf for each asset minted.
 	// TODO(jhb): Resolve issue of 33-byte group key handling.
diff --git a/itest/mint_batch_stress_test.go b/itest/mint_batch_stress_test.go
index 2ee4d55b2..486ba52ad 100644
--- a/itest/mint_batch_stress_test.go
+++ b/itest/mint_batch_stress_test.go
@@ -183,10 +183,7 @@ func mintBatchStressTest(
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 	require.Len(t, uniRoots.UniverseRoots, groupCount)
 
-	err = AssertUniverseRoot(
-		t, alice, groupBalance, nil, collectGroupKey,
-	)
-	require.NoError(t, err)
+	AssertUniverseRoot(t, alice, groupBalance, nil, collectGroupKey)
 
 	// The universe tree should also have a leaf for each asset minted.
 	// TODO(jhb): Resolve issue of 33-byte group key handling.