What Ark Labs does

Ark Labs is a Bitcoin Layer 2 infrastructure company that develops Arkade, an open programmable execution layer for Bitcoin-based financial applications. The company was founded in June 2024 and is headquartered in Lugano, Switzerland. Arkade implements the Ark Protocol specification using Virtual Transaction Outputs (VTXOs) to enable batched off-chain transactions with instant execution while preserving Bitcoin's security guarantees and without requiring changes to Bitcoin's consensus rules. The platform supports payments, lending, trading, stablecoin issuance and settlement, escrow, conditional spending, and AI agent payment controls through its UTXO-native architecture.

The company's product surface spans the core Arkade platform, Arkade Assets (a framework for issuing and settling stablecoins and tokens natively on Bitcoin), developer SDKs in TypeScript, Golang, and Rust, the Fulmine wallet daemon for swap providers and payment hubs, a reference Arkade Wallet implementation, a BTCPayServer plugin for merchants, and a dedicated Boltz Swap SDK for Lightning integration. Notable integrations include Breez, BTCPayServer, Boltz, BullBitcoin, Lendasat, and LayerZ Wallet, with reach extended to Coinbase, Binance, and Kraken users through Boltz corridors.

Ark Labs targets fintechs, brokerages, asset managers, stablecoin issuers, payment companies, and lending platforms as customer segments. Revenue is generated through transaction fees charged to participants (Ark Service Providers), SDK and developer tooling licensing, and professional services for enterprise partner onboarding. The company has raised $7.7M across a $2.5M pre-seed round led by Draper Associates (August 2024) and a $5.2M seed round co-led by Tether (March 2026). The team is led by co-founder and CEO Marco Argentieri and CTO Mr. Kukks.

Name

Ark Labs

Legal name

Ark Labs

Website

https://arklabs.xyz

Company type

Private

Founded year

2024

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Ark Labs builds Arkade, an open programmable Layer 2 for Bitcoin using VTXO technology that enables instant transactions, stablecoins, and financial applications without consensus changes, serving fintechs, stablecoin issuers, and payment companies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Bitcoin Layer 2 Infrastructure

NAICS

Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (51821), Computer Systems Design Services (541512)

SIC

Security & Commodity Brokers, Dealers, Exchanges & Services (6200), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Crypto Payments & Stablecoin Settlement Platforms (BPAMAFAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Wallet Infrastructure (SDKs, Wallet-as-a-Service) (FSADACAD), Enterprise Payments & Tokenized Money (stablecoins, tokenized deposits, CBDC rails) (FSAPAIAJ)

Keywords

• Bitcoin Layer 2
• Programmable payments
• Stablecoin infrastructure
• Bitcoin developer SDK
• Lightning integration

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Platform/ Infrastructure Services: Ark Labs generates revenue through fees charged to participants for using the Arkade platform for transactions, batch settlements, and liquidity provision. Operators (Ark Service Providers) earn transaction fees, creating an economic model where liquidity providers are incentivized by fees proportional to the time value of money. The company also generates revenue from developer tooling, SDK licensing, and professional services for enterprise partner onboarding.
2. Developer Tools and SDK Licensing: Revenue from providing and maintaining SDKs in TypeScript, Golang, and Rust, along with reference implementations and developer documentation for building on the Arkade platform. Professional services for enterprise integration and onboarding represent an additional revenue stream.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Ark Labs builds Arkade, an open programmable execution layer for Bitcoin that virtualizes UTXOs through Virtual Transaction Outputs (VTXOs) to enable instant offchain transactions, stablecoin issuance and settlement, and embedded finance applications. The company sells developer SDKs (TypeScript, Golang, Rust), a wallet daemon (Fulmine), a reference wallet (Arkade Wallet), and offers enterprise integration services for fintechs, brokerages, stablecoin issuers, and payment companies.

Product overview

Ark Labs offers a suite of Bitcoin Layer 2 infrastructure products centered on the Arkade platform, an open programmable execution layer for Bitcoin. The core Arkade platform enables instant, programmable transactions using Virtual Transaction Outputs (VTXOs), while Arkade Assets extends this for stablecoins and tokens. Developer tools include SDKs in TypeScript, Golang, and Rust, plus the Ark Wallet SDK for building wallets. Supporting products include Fulmine (liquidity management daemon), the Arkade Wallet reference implementation, BTCPayServer plugin, and Boltz Swap SDK for Lightning integration.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Arkade Open programmable execution layer for Bitcoin-based financial applications. Powers instant, programmable transactions for wallets, fintechs, and financial institutions on Bitcoin without requiring consensus rule changes.
• Arkade SDKs Software development kits available in TypeScript, Golang, and Rust for building wallets, payment apps, and financial services on the Arkade platform. Includes a dedicated Boltz Swap SDK (@arkade-os/boltz-swap) for integrating swap capability into Arkade wallets.
• Fulmine

Quantifiable outcome

• Settlement time reduced from 5–10 minutes to under 1 second for Bitcoin-to-Lightning swaps via Boltz integration
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration10 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• BoltzflagshipTechnology or IntegrationBoltz is a non-custodial Bitcoin bridge provider integrating Arkade into its swap infrastructure. The integration reduced Bitcoin-to-Lightning swap settlement from 5–10 minutes to under 1 second. Ark Labs built a dedicated @arkade-os/boltz-swap library enabling any Arkade wallet to adopt swap capability. The integration powered all Lightning payments at Baltic Honeybadger 2025.
• BreezcoreTechnology or IntegrationBreez is a Lightning wallet provider and launch ecosystem partner for Arkade. Collaborated closely with Ark Labs to ensure tools deliver real-world utility.
• BTCPayServercoreTechnology or IntegrationBTCPayServer is an open-source Bitcoin payment processor integrating the Arkade plugin. The plugin enables merchants to accept instant Bitcoin payments with lower fees and batch settlement while maintaining self-custody.
• BullBitcoincoreTechnology or IntegrationBullBitcoin is a Bitcoin exchange and wallet service integrating with Arkade as a launch ecosystem partner.
• LendasatcoreTechnology or IntegrationLendasat is a Bitcoin financial services provider and launch ecosystem partner for Arkade.
• LayerZ WalletcoreTechnology or IntegrationLayerZ Wallet is a Bitcoin wallet integrating with Arkade as a launch ecosystem partner.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Lightning Labs: Lightning Labs develops the Lightning Network, the most established Bitcoin Layer 2 for instant payments. Both Lightning Labs and Ark Labs target the same goal (instant, low-cost Bitcoin transactions) via competing off-chain architectures, making them the closest direct comparables in the Bitcoin scaling market.
• Rootstock (RSK): Rootstock is an EVM-compatible Bitcoin sidechain that brings smart-contract programmability to Bitcoin via merged mining. It is comparable to Ark Labs because both target the same unmet need (programmable Bitcoin applications) but through fundamentally different architectures (merged-mined sidechain vs VTXO-based off-chain execution).
• Boltz: Boltz is a non-custodial Bitcoin bridge and Lightning swap provider that is integrated with Arkade via the @arkade-os/boltz-swap SDK. They are tightly coupled partners that compete for some of the same use cases (instant Bitcoin/Lightning interoperability) and jointly power swaps that settle in under 1 second.
• Breez: Breez is a Lightning wallet provider and launch ecosystem partner of Ark Labs. Both companies offer developer tooling and end-user wallets for non-custodial Bitcoin payments, and Breez's SDK/Mobile SDK stack is a partial substitute for Arkade's wallet SDKs in the same Lightning-centric market.
• Stacks: Stacks is a Bitcoin Layer 2 enabling smart contracts and programmable applications using Bitcoin as the settlement layer. Like Ark Labs, Stacks competes for developer mindshare building programmable finance on Bitcoin, though via a different consensus and execution architecture (PoX + Clarity vs VTXO batches).

Broad incumbents

• Blockstream: Blockstream is a large, established Bitcoin infrastructure company operating the Liquid Network (a Bitcoin sidechain), Blockstream Satellite, mining services, and institutional custody. It is comparable to Ark Labs as a broad Bitcoin infrastructure incumbent with overlapping capability in Layer 2 settlement, though Blockstream's offerings span a much wider portfolio.
• Lightspark: Lightspark (founded by David Marcus) is building enterprise-grade Lightning Network payment infrastructure. It overlaps with Ark Labs on instant Bitcoin payments and Lightning integration for financial institutions, but operates as a broader incumbent targeting enterprise remittance and bank-grade payment use cases.

Emerging players

• Alpen Labs: Alpen Labs is building Strata, a Bitcoin L2 focused on programmable finance and stablecoin issuance. It is an emerging player pursuing the same stablecoin-on-Bitcoin opportunity that Ark Labs targets with Tether, competing head-on for the same issuer and fintech customer base.
• ZeroSync: ZeroSync develops STARK proof-based tooling that compresses Bitcoin block validation and enables Layer 2 scalability. It is comparable to Ark Labs as a Bitcoin scaling infrastructure project that could underpin alternative L2 architectures, and it competes for the same developer talent and grant funding in the Bitcoin ecosystem.
• Botanix Labs: Botanix Labs is building Spiderchain, an EVM-equivalent Bitcoin Layer 2 for smart contracts. It is an emerging direct competitor to Arkade in the race to bring programmable applications to Bitcoin, with comparable stage and funding profile but a different technical approach (EVM on Bitcoin vs VTXO batches).

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ArkLabsHQ
• GitHubgithub.com/ArkLabsHQ
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/arklabsbitcoin

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors10 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 Ark Labs