Arkis - DeFi Prime Broker

What Arkis - DeFi Prime Broker does

Arkis is a London-based DeFi prime broker founded in 2022 that provides institutional-grade, undercollateralized leverage to crypto-native borrowers and a governed credit deployment channel to institutional lenders. The platform enables up to 5x leverage by evaluating risk at the portfolio level rather than the asset level, netting positions across CeFi venues, DeFi protocols, and qualified custodians under a unified margin account. The core product set comprises the Arkis Protocol (smart-contract credit infrastructure), the Arkis Margin Engine (portfolio-level risk analytics and deterministic liquidation), the Dynamic Spread Model (an interest-rate framework anchored to collateral expected yield rather than utilization), the Arkis Portal (web interface), the Arkis API (programmatic access with dedicated sub-accounts), and Arkis OTC (an institutional execution desk launched in May 2026).

The business model is transaction-based: Arkis earns a 10% performance fee on credit operations, shared between lenders and borrowers based on utilization, plus the interest-rate spread between borrow and supply rates. Go-to-market is enterprise field sales combined with an API-first product surface — institutional clients complete KYC/AML onboarding and receive custom liquidity arrangements accessed via API keys or the web portal. Primary customer segments are crypto-native hedge funds and asset managers running directional and market-neutral strategies, and institutional lenders seeking risk-adjusted, overcollateralized-style credit exposure without impermanent loss.

Arkis has deployed $100M+ in cumulative credit since inception with zero bad debt across multiple volatility regimes, completed four security audits (most recently December 2025 by Cantina), and integrated with Hyperliquid (first prime broker to offer DMA and portfolio margin for Hyperliquid positions) and 1inch. In February 2026, Arkis announced a strategic collaboration with Spark Foundation, including a $4.5M strategic equity investment, to power Spark Prime — an institutional credit product targeting up to $500M in credit capacity during 2026. Total disclosed venture capital raised is approximately $10M across a $2.25M pre-seed round led by gumi Cryptos Capital and the $4.5M Spark strategic investment.

Name

Arkis - DeFi Prime Broker

Legal name

Arkis

Website

https://arkis.xyz

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Arkis is a DeFi prime broker providing institutional, undercollateralized leverage up to 5x through cross-venue portfolio margin. It serves crypto-native hedge funds, asset managers, and institutional lenders via smart-contract credit infrastructure and API access.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

DeFi Prime Brokerage

NAICS

Credit Intermediation and Related Activities (522), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Finance Services (6199), Security & Commodity Brokers, Dealers, Exchanges & Services (6200)

akta.pro primary industry

Institutional DeFi & On-Chain Liquidity Infrastructure (Permissioned DeFi, Lending) (FSAGAMAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Decentralized Lending & Borrowing Protocols (FSADAMAA), Lending Protocol Infrastructure (Oracles, Rate Models, Vaults) (FSADAFAN)

Keywords

• DeFi prime brokerage
• Portfolio margin lending
• Institutional crypto credit
• Undercollateralized leverage
• Digital asset credit protocol

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Performance Fee on Credit Operations: Arkis Protocol applies a 10% performance fee on credit operations. The fee is split between lenders and borrowers based on utilization: at 50% utilization, fees are split evenly; at high utilization, borrowers bear more of the fee; at low utilization, lenders bear more of the fee.
2. Interest Rate Spread: Arkis earns revenue from the spread between borrow rates charged to borrowers and supply rates paid to lenders. Borrow rate = supply rate * (1 + performance_fee), creating a margin on each loan transaction.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Arkis provides an institutional DeFi prime brokerage credit protocol enabling undercollateralized leverage up to 5x through portfolio margin across CeFi and DeFi venues. The platform connects institutional borrowers (hedge funds, asset managers) with institutional lenders/liquidity providers under a unified risk and margin framework built on smart contracts, earning revenue through interest rate spreads and a performance fee on credit operations.

Product overview

Arkis is a digital asset prime brokerage credit protocol providing institutional-grade DeFi services. The platform consists of the core Arkis Protocol (smart contract infrastructure for undercollateralized lending/borrowing up to 5x leverage), the Arkis Margin Engine (portfolio-level risk analytics), and supporting products including Arkis Portal (user interface), Arkis API (developer tools), Arkis OTC (execution desk), and Spark Prime (institutional credit product). The platform unifies collateral, margin, and risk across CeFi and DeFi environments, enabling cross-venue portfolio margining for institutional asset managers and lenders.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Arkis Protocol The core digital asset prime brokerage credit protocol that enables institutional borrowers and lenders to interact in a zero-trust smart contract environment, supporting undercollateralized leverage up to 5x with cross-chain capabilities.
• Arkis Margin Engine Portfolio-level risk analytics system that calculates initial and maintenance margin by evaluating borrower portfolios holistically across DeFi protocols, centralized exchanges, and qualified custodians.
• Spark Prime Institutional prime credit product by Spark deployed through Arkis's unified credit framework, enabling capital-efficient, collateralized, on-chain lending for institutions.
• Arkis OTC Over-the-counter execution desk built inside the Arkis prime brokerage platform for institutional clients.
• Arkis Portal Web-based interface for managing Arkis lending and borrowing operations, including margin accounts, wallet connections, and position monitoring.
• Arkis API Developer API providing endpoints for Lender Vault Exposure analytics, Borrower Risk Factor Analytics, and maintenance publication structure for integrating with Arkis infrastructure.

Quantifiable outcome

• Up to 5x leverage with portfolio margin
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• SparkcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 February 2026Spark Foundation, alongside participating angel investors, made a $4.5m strategic equity investment in Arkis. Spark deploys institutional liquidity through the Arkis credit framework to power Spark Prime, targeting up to $500 million in credit capacity during 2026. This partnership combines Spark's institutional liquidity and risk governance with Arkis's unified margin and credit framework.
• HyperliquidcoreTechnology or IntegrationArkis integrated Hyperliquid into its prime brokerage platform, becoming the first prime broker offering Direct Market Access (DMA) and portfolio margin for Hyperliquid positions. Traders can now borrow against a single portfolio margin that spans integrated CEX venues and Hyperliquid.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Morpho: Major DeFi lending optimizer and lending protocol (Morpho Blue) with overcollateralized markets. Overlaps with Arkis's DeFi credit infrastructure but focuses on optimized collateralized lending rather than institutional undercollateralized credit.
• Spark Protocol: Major DeFi lending protocol and Arkis's strategic equity investor/liquidity partner. Overlaps in DeFi institutional credit and is itself a customer — directly comparable as a DeFi credit franchise though overcollateralized.
• Aave: Largest DeFi lending protocol offering overcollateralized lending across multiple chains. While overcollateralized rather than undercollateralized, Aave is the dominant DeFi credit venue where many of Arkis's borrowers source liquidity.
• Galaxy Digital: Diversified institutional digital-asset firm providing prime brokerage, lending, and trading services. Comparable as a broad incumbent crypto prime broker competing for the same institutional credit mandate.
• FalconX: Institutional crypto prime broker offering credit, custody, and trading to digital-asset funds. Comparable as an institutional prime brokerage for digital assets, though operating in CeFi rather than DeFi.

Direct peers

• Centrifuge: Decentralized credit protocol for tokenized real-world asset (RWA) financing, bringing institutional borrowers and DeFi lenders together. Directly comparable in connecting institutional credit demand with on-chain capital.
• Goldfinch: Decentralized credit protocol focused on undercollateralized lending using on-chain credit guarantees and off-chain identity verification. Similar undercollateralized model targeting institutional and real-world borrowers.
• TrueFi: DeFi protocol for undercollateralized lending to vetted institutional borrowers using credit scores and on-chain reputation. Closely overlaps with Arkis's undercollateralized institutional lending focus.
• Clearpool: Decentralized credit marketplace connecting institutional borrowers with lenders via permissioned pools. Comparable to Arkis as a DeFi institutional credit protocol targeting crypto-native funds and market makers.
• Maple Finance: Institutional DeFi credit marketplace offering undercollateralized loans to crypto-native funds via pool delegates. Directly comparable to Arkis's institutional lending model with KYC-gated undercollateralized credit.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/arkisxyz
• GitHubgithub.com/ArkisXYZ
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/arkisxyz

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors5 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Arkis - DeFi Prime Broker