Lukso
LUKSO is a Layer-1 EVM blockchain purpose-built for social, culture, and creators, offering smart contract-based digital identity through Universal Profiles. It serves developers, creators, luxury brands, and cultural institutions, monetizing via native LYX network transaction fees under a Swiss nonprofit foundation.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2023
- HeadquartersBerlin, Germany
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingSoftware
What Lukso does
LUKSO is a Layer-1 EVM blockchain purpose-built for social, culture, and creators, operated by the Foundation for the New Creative Economies (FNCΞ), a nonprofit foundation incorporated in Zug, Switzerland. The protocol's flagship technical contribution is the Universal Profile: a smart contract-based digital identity account that consolidates assets, permissions, identity metadata, and social recovery into a single programmable account, governed by the ERC725 standard and supplemented by Universal Receiver delegates and The Grid widget framework. The mainnet launched on May 23, 2023 with Chain ID 42, using an unmodified Ethereum execution layer, and the network has undergone the Deneb (Nov 2024) and Electra (Sep 2025) upgrades.
The product surface includes the Universal Profile Browser Extension (Chrome/Brave), the UniversalProfile.cloud dashboard, a Universal Profile Mobile App launched in December 2024 via WalletConnect, the Token Creator no-code deployment tool, and supporting dApps such as Common Ground, Universal Page, and Universal Swaps. The native token LYX (migrated from the Ethereum ERC-20 LYXe via bridge in July 2023) powers network transaction fees and staking; cross-chain asset movement is enabled through the Hyperlane NEXUS bridge.
The go-to-market is product-led and developer-led: LUKSO distributes via standard EVM wallets (MetaMask, Rabby, Rainbow, Coinbase Wallet, Trust Wallet) and hardware wallets (Ledger, Trezor), supplemented by developer grants (Wave 2 "Hack The Grid" with Gitcoin) and community channels (Discord, X, YouTube, Medium, Telegram). Revenue is generated exclusively through network transaction fees paid in LYX, with no public pricing, no disclosed revenue, and no equity funding rounds after a $18M raise in February 2021. Enterprise adoption is concentrated in a small set of validator and partnership relationships (Mansory in luxury automotive, SLEEK in media, Crypto.com Custody and GlobalStake in institutional staking), positioning LUKSO as a niche identity-focused chain rather than a general-purpose settlement layer.
Lukso firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Lukso
- Legal name
- Foundation for the New Creative Economies
- Website
- https://lukso.network
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2023
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- LUKSO is a Layer-1 EVM blockchain purpose-built for social, culture, and creators, offering smart contract-based digital identity through Universal Profiles. It serves developers, creators, luxury brands, and cultural institutions, monetizing via native LYX network transaction fees under a Swiss nonprofit foundation.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Lukso industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Layer-1 Blockchain Platform
- NAICS
- Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151), Custom Computer Programming Services (541511)
- SIC
- Finance Services (6199)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Smart Contract Developer Platforms & Tooling (SDKs, APIs, frameworks, indexing) (FSAPAAAH)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Smart Contract Wallets / Account Abstraction (MPC/AA, social recovery, paymasters) (FSAPACAB), Account Abstraction & Smart Wallet Tooling (AA SDKs, paymasters, session keys) (FSAPABAK)
Keywords
Where Lukso is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Berlin
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Lukso business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Network Transaction Fees: The LUKSO blockchain network generates revenue through transaction fees paid in LYX (the native token). Validators process transactions and earn fees for securing the network.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
Lukso product offering
Product offeringCore offering
LUKSO operates a Layer-1 EVM blockchain (Chain ID 42) purpose-built for social, cultural, and creator applications, built on an unmodified version of Ethereum. Its flagship product, Universal Profiles, provides smart contract-based digital identity accounts with social recovery, relay transactions, rights management, and upgradeable security, accessible via a browser extension, mobile app, and web dashboard. The platform supports a no-code Token Creator, cross-chain bridging through Hyperlane NEXUS, and a developer grants program, all powered by the native LYX token.
Product overview
LUKSO is a Layer-1 EVM blockchain platform built for social, culture, and creators. The core offering centers on Universal Profiles - smart contract-based digital identities that give users ownership and control over their digital lives. Universal Profiles are accessible through multiple interfaces: the Universal Profile Browser Extension (Chrome/Brave), a Universal Profile Mobile App (via WalletConnect), and the UniversalProfile.cloud web dashboard. Supporting products include the Token Creator (on Universal Everything) for creating tokens and NFTs without code, and The Grid as a customizable widget dashboard. The native LYX token powers the network, while Hyperlane NEXUS enables cross-chain bridging. LUKSO's institutional staking infrastructure is provided through partnerships with Crypto.com Custody and GlobalStake.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- LUKSO Blockchain Layer-1 EVM blockchain built specifically for social, culture, and creators. Uses an unmodified version of Ethereum and provides an open, permissionless infrastructure for decentralized applications, with native staking, smart contract accounts, and 155,000+ active validators.
- Universal Profiles Smart contract-based digital identity accounts that serve as the foundation of the LUKSO ecosystem. Each profile can hold assets, manage permissions, and interact with dApps, with features including social recovery, relay transactions, rights management, upgradeable security, and infinite metadata for unique customization.
- Universal Profile Browser Extension Browser extension for managing Universal Profiles, available for Chrome and Brave browsers. Enables profile interactions, transaction signing, and connection to dApps on LUKSO. Each profile within the extension holds a separate private key that can be exported.
- Universal Profile Mobile App Mobile application for managing Universal Profiles, launched in December 2024 via WalletConnect. Allows users to interact with any dApp on LUKSO from their mobile device, providing seamless mobile connectivity to the broader dApp ecosystem.
- UniversalProfile.cloud Dashboard Web-based dashboard for managing Universal Profiles. Users can view profiles, add 2FA recovery, monitor relay quotas, edit profile metadata (pictures, info), and manage assets directly from the browser.
- Token Creator No-code tool on Universal Everything for creating and deploying tokens or NFTs. Users can define categories, metadata, and co-creators, with support for token types including Fan Token, Proof of Attendance, Utility Token, Collectible, and Membership.
Companies that use Lukso
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Lukso technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration7 records
Feature4 records
Lukso partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.
- SLEEKcoreBerlin-based media platform partnership with the Foundation for the New Creative Economies (FNCE) to explore digital culture through Universal Profiles on LUKSO. The initiative focuses on creating digital memberships using blockchain technology, allowing users to maintain control over digital identities and participate in cultural activities. Prototypes new participatory ways for media and cultural institutions to engage audiences.
- GlobalStakecoreGlobalStake provides the secure validator infrastructure for the institutional-grade staking services offered through the Crypto.com Custody and LUKSO Foundation partnership. Enables clients to stake LUKSO assets using secure, decentralized infrastructure with compliance and sustainability features.
- Crypto.com CustodycoreCrypto.com Custody partnered with the LUKSO Foundation to provide institutional-grade staking infrastructure for LUKSO's blockchain network. The collaboration enables Crypto.com custody clients to stake LUKSO assets directly, utilizing GlobalStake's secure validator infrastructure. Emphasizes high-performance, security, and environmental responsibility.
- MansoryflagshipStrategic partnership bringing luxury automotive culture onchain. Mansory participates as a validator on the LUKSO network, has onboarded onto Universal Profiles, and is testing new products. The collaboration extends Mansory's luxury automotive brand identity into the digital realm using blockchain for community engagement and brand authenticity verification.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights7 records
Lukso competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Ethereum Name Service (ENS): Decentralized on-chain identity/naming primitive on Ethereum that maps human-readable names to addresses and profiles. Closely comparable to LUKSO's Universal Profiles as a competing on-chain identity and naming standard with broader EVM reach.
- Lens Protocol: Decentralized social graph protocol focused on creator ownership and portable profiles, originally built on Polygon. Directly comparable to LUKSO's vision of user-owned social identity and creator monetization on a purpose-built chain.
- Zora: Creator-focused on-chain protocol for minting and discovering media/NFTs, with strong overlap in LUKSO's fashion/creator economy thesis. Comparable as a peer building consumer-facing on-chain infrastructure targeted at creators and brands.
- Argent: Smart-contract wallet product with social recovery and AA features on StarkNet/Ethereum. Directly comparable to LUKSO's Universal Profiles as a competing consumer-facing smart-account wallet focused on recovery, security, and UX.
- Polygon: EVM-compatible L2/sidechain with a strong creator, gaming, and fashion/lifestyle vertical focus and major brand partnerships (Nike, Adidas, Starbucks). Directly comparable to LUKSO in its positioning as an EVM chain targeting cultural and consumer applications.
- Sequence (Horizon): Web3 infrastructure platform offering smart wallets, identity, and payments targeted at gaming and consumer brands. Comparable to LUKSO as a peer providing turnkey on-chain identity and wallet tooling to brand and creator use cases.
- Farcaster: Decentralized social protocol with user-owned profiles (Hubs/Frames). Comparable to LUKSO as a competing decentralized identity + social stack targeting the same creator/community use cases LUKSO positions Universal Profiles for.
- Safe (Gnosis Safe): The leading smart-contract wallet infrastructure on EVM chains, used by both consumers and institutions. Directly comparable to LUKSO's Universal Profiles as a competing implementation of programmable, recoverable smart accounts for digital asset custody and identity.
Broad incumbents
- Base: Coinbase-incubated L2 with massive distribution, rapidly growing consumer and social dApp ecosystem, and native smart-account features. Comparable to LUKSO as an EVM destination for consumer/creator/social applications but with vastly larger scale and Coinbase-backed resources.
Emerging players
- Kite AI: Programmable identity and payments infrastructure for AI agents, partnered with LUKSO (April 2026) on auditable on-chain identity for autonomous agents. Comparable as a fellow emerging player at the intersection of programmable identity and AI-agent commerce.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Lukso social profiles
Digital presenceLukso financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Lukso leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
Lukso funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Lukso M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Lukso
What does Lukso do?
LUKSO operates a Layer-1 EVM blockchain (Chain ID 42) purpose-built for social, cultural, and creator applications, built on an unmodified version of Ethereum. Its flagship product, Universal Profiles, provides smart contract-based digital identity accounts with social recovery, relay transactions, rights management, and upgradeable security, accessible via a browser extension, mobile app, and web dashboard. The platform supports a no-code Token Creator, cross-chain bridging through Hyperlane NEXUS, and a developer grants program, all powered by the native LYX token.
Is Lukso a public or private company?
Lukso is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Lukso founded?
Lukso was founded in 2023. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Lukso based?
Lukso is headquartered in Berlin, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does Lukso make money?
One revenue line is on record: network Transaction Fees.
Who are Lukso's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Ethereum Name Service (ENS), Lens Protocol, Zora, Argent, Polygon, Sequence (Horizon), Farcaster and Safe (Gnosis Safe). Base is listed as a broad incumbent. Kite AI is listed as an emerging player.
Does Lukso have an API?
No public API is recorded for Lukso.
What industry is Lukso in?
Lukso's product category is Layer-1 Blockchain Platform. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAPAAAH, Smart Contract Developer Platforms & Tooling (SDKs, APIs, frameworks, indexing), with a secondary code of FSAPACAB, Smart Contract Wallets / Account Abstraction (MPC/AA, social recovery, paymasters). Its NAICS code is 54151 and its SIC code is 6199.