VELAR

Decentralized Finance Protocolvelar.com

Velar is a non-custodial DeFi protocol on Stacks L2 offering a Bitcoin-settled DEX, perpetual derivatives exchange, launchpad, bridge, and staking, targeting retail crypto traders and developers globally.

Company typePrivate
Founded2024
HeadquartersDubai, United Arab Emirates
Headcount11–50
GTM typeB2C
OfferingSoftware

What VELAR does

Velar (legal entity Velar Labs Inc., incorporated in Panama and operationally headquartered in Dubai) is a multi-feature decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol built on the Stacks Layer 2 network with Bitcoin finality. Its product suite centers on two trading venues: Velar Dharma, a Uniswap V2-inspired automated market maker for permissionless token swaps on Bitcoin, and Velar Artha, marketed as the world's first decentralized perpetual derivatives exchange on Bitcoin, offering up to 20x leverage on BTC and other tokens. Supporting products include Velar Launchpad for IDO token launches, a cross-chain Bridge, $VELAR staking with tiered utility, LP farming, seasonal yield farming, and developer-facing public REST API and TypeScript SDK.

The protocol is non-custodial, uses Clarity smart contracts (with EVM-compatible components), and has completed third-party security audits covering both the AMM and PerpDEX. Velar generates revenue via a 0.3% swap fee on DEX trades and IDO listing/success fees, monetizing transaction flow rather than subscriptions. Go-to-market is fully product-led and community-led: users connect Leather, Xverse, or Asigna wallets and access the platform globally (excluding ~40 restricted jurisdictions including the US, UK, China, and Russia), while $VELAR staking is used as a land-and-expand mechanism to drive launchpad participation and user lockup. The platform targets retail crypto traders, DeFi liquidity providers, and developers building on Bitcoin L2, and is backed by a syndicate of ~22 crypto-native investors including CMS Holdings, Trust Machines, Cypher Capital, Bitcoin Startup Lab, and Kyros Ventures following a $3.5M seed round in February 2024.

VELAR firmographics

Firmographics

Name: VELAR
Legal name: Velar Labs Inc.
Website: https://velar.com
Company type: Private
Founded year: 2024
Operating status: Operating
Headcount range: 11–50 employees
Short description: Velar is a non-custodial DeFi protocol on Stacks L2 offering a Bitcoin-settled DEX, perpetual derivatives exchange, launchpad, bridge, and staking, targeting retail crypto traders and developers globally.
Ownership category
akta.pro rank

VELAR industry classification

Industry

Product category: Decentralized Finance Protocol
NAICS: Securities and Commodity Exchanges (523210), Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (522320)
SIC: Commodity Contracts Brokers & Dealers (6221), Security & Commodity Brokers, Dealers, Exchanges & Services (6200), Security Brokers, Dealers & Flotation Companies (6211)
akta.pro primary industry: Perpetuals & Derivatives DEXs (FSADABAE)
akta.pro secondary industries: Liquidity Management & Market-Making Protocols (FSADAMAH), Derivatives, Perpetuals & Options Protocols (FSADAMAC)

Keywords

Decentralized exchange
Perpetual derivatives trading
Bitcoin defi protocol
Liquidity provision staking
Token launch platform

Where VELAR is headquartered

Location

Headquarters

HQ city: Dubai
HQ country: United Arab Emirates
HQ region: Middle East

Offices1 record

Markets served

VELAR business model

Business model

GTM type: B2C
Offering type: Software
Cost components: Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

DEX Trading Fees: Velar charges a 0.3% fee from traders swapping tokens on the DEX. A portion of trading fees is allocated to the treasury for product development and active participant reward pool replenishment.
IDO Launchpad Fees: Velar charges listing fees and/or success fees from projects launching tokens on its IDO Launchpad platform. Additional revenue may come through partnerships with organizations and Stacks community participation.

Pricing tiers

Model	Billing	Price
Transaction based/ take rate	Pay-as-you-go	0.3% trading fee on DEX swaps

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

VELAR product offering

Product offering

Core offering

VELAR is a multi-feature decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol built on Bitcoin Layer 2 (Stacks), enabling permissionless token swaps via an Automated Market Maker DEX, leveraged perpetual derivatives trading up to 20x, an IDO launchpad for new token issuance, a cross-chain bridge, staking, yield farming, and developer SDK/API access. The protocol operates as a non-custodial, trustless platform using Clarity smart contracts on Stacks L2.

Product overview

Velar is a Bitcoin-focused DeFi liquidity protocol offering a comprehensive suite of decentralized finance products built on Bitcoin Layer 2 solutions (primarily Stacks). The platform operates as a unified ecosystem consisting of Velar DEX (a Uniswap V2-inspired decentralized exchange for token swaps), Velar Artha (the world's first decentralized perpetual derivatives exchange enabling up to 20x leverage trading on Bitcoin), Velar Launchpad (a token launch service for Stacks-based projects), Velar Bridge (cross-chain asset transfer functionality), and staking/farming modules. The protocol is non-custodial, written in Clarity language on Stacks L2, and provides developer access through a public API and TypeScript/JavaScript SDK.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

Velar Artha: The world's first decentralized perpetual derivatives exchange on Bitcoin, offering leverage trading.
Velar Dharma
Velar Kama
Velar Moksha

Products and services

Velar DEX A decentralized exchange (DEX) inspired by Uniswap V2, enabling seamless, permissionless token swaps on Bitcoin's Layer 2 infrastructure via Stacks. Users connect compatible Bitcoin wallets to swap assets with a 0.3% trading fee.
Velar Artha PerpDEX The world's first decentralized perpetual derivatives exchange on Bitcoin, enabling trustless, non-custodial leveraged trading of Bitcoin and various tokens with up to 20x leverage using synthetic assets.
Velar Launchpad A token launchpad that simplifies the process of launching tokens for Stacks-based projects, charging listing fees and/or success fees. Allocations are tiered based on users' $VELAR token staking levels.
Velar Bridge A cross-chain bridge enabling seamless asset transfers between different blockchain networks, allowing users to move assets into the Bitcoin DeFi ecosystem on Stacks.
Velar Staking Staking program allowing users to stake $VELAR tokens to unlock tiered benefits including IDO participation on the Launchpad, trading fee discounts, early access to features, and exclusive testnet access.
Velar SDK A TypeScript/JavaScript software development kit (npm: @velarprotocol/velar-sdk) enabling developers to implement token swaps, manage liquidity, and interact with the Velar DEX ecosystem on the Stacks blockchain with slippage protection and multi-hop routing.
Velar API A public REST API (https://api.velar.co) providing endpoints for token data, real-time and historical prices, circulating supply, and pool/liquidity data for third-party application integration.

Quantifiable outcome

$800 billion+ of dormant Bitcoin liquidity available to unlock

Companies that use VELAR

Customer profile

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

VELAR technology and API

Technology

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API: Yes
API docs
API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature7 records

VELAR partnerships and signals

Strategic signal

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

StackscoreTechnology or IntegrationStacks is the Layer 2 infrastructure powering Velar's Bitcoin DeFi ecosystem. The launch of sBTC by Stacks enables Velar to unlock Bitcoin liquidity for use in financial protocols. Velar builds its smart contracts and dApps (DEX, Launchpad, staking, yield farming) on Stacks.
Trust MachinessupportingTechnology or IntegrationStrategic ecosystem partner supporting the Bitcoin DeFi ecosystem development. Part of the broader Stacks ecosystem infrastructure.
Bitcoin Startup LabsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partner committed to making Bitcoin DeFi accessible. Supports ecosystem development and startup growth within the Bitcoin DeFi space.
CMS HoldingssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partner in the Bitcoin DeFi ecosystem, backing Velar's mission to bring DeFi capabilities to Bitcoin.
Black Edge CapitalsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partner supporting the development of Bitcoin DeFi infrastructure and Velar's platform growth.
Samara AGsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic ecosystem partner contributing to Bitcoin DeFi development and Velar's mission.
GBVsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partner supporting Bitcoin DeFi ecosystem development and Velar's platform.
Cypher CapitalsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partner contributing to Bitcoin DeFi ecosystem growth and Velar's mission.
MapleBlock CapitalsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partner supporting Bitcoin DeFi infrastructure development.
G20 GroupsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic ecosystem partner for Bitcoin DeFi development.
Kyros VenturessupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partner supporting the growth and development of Bitcoin DeFi ecosystem.
BlockpasssupportingTechnology or IntegrationThird-party KYC provider used by Velar for Know Your Customer compliance. Users may be required to undergo KYC verification through blockpass.org/kyc/.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

VELAR competitors and assessment

Company assessment

Broad incumbents

GMX: GMX is a leading decentralized perpetual exchange on Arbitrum and Avalanche. Comparable product (leveraged perps via liquidity pools) to Velar Artha, with established liquidity and a far larger user base.
Uniswap: Uniswap is the canonical AMM-based DEX whose v2 architecture Velar Dharma explicitly replicates. Comparable as the benchmark product for Velar's DEX offering, though not on Bitcoin L2.
Hyperliquid: Hyperliquid is a high-performance decentralized perpetual futures exchange with its own L1. Closely comparable to Velar Artha on perpetuals product and order-book/AMM hybrid model, at significantly greater scale.
dYdX: dYdX is one of the largest decentralized perpetual derivatives exchanges, operating its own appchain. Directly comparable to Velar Artha's PerpDEX product but at vastly greater scale and on EVM infrastructure.

Emerging players

Aevo: Aevo is a decentralized options and perpetual futures exchange built on a custom rollup. Comparable to Velar Artha's derivatives focus, though primarily options-focused rather than pure perps.
Zest Protocol: Zest is a Bitcoin lending and yield protocol on Stacks. Comparable as a fellow Stacks-native Bitcoin DeFi builder, though it focuses on credit markets rather than trading/derivatives.
SushiSwap: SushiSwap is a multi-chain AMM DEX with similar token-swap and liquidity-pool mechanics to Velar Dharma, operating across many EVM chains and competing for the same DeFi user persona.

Direct peers

Apex Protocol: Apex is a decentralized perpetual futures protocol on Bitcoin via Stacks. Closest direct competitor to Velar Artha for the "Bitcoin-native PerpDEX" positioning.
ALEX (formerly ALEX Lab): ALEX is a Bitcoin DeFi protocol built on Stacks L2 offering DEX, lending, and yield products. It is Velar's most direct head-to-head competitor in the Stacks Bitcoin DeFi ecosystem, competing for the same wallet-integrated user base.
Bitflow Finance: Bitflow is a Stacks-based decentralized exchange and liquidity aggregator for Bitcoin and Stacks assets. Directly comparable to Velar's Velar Dharma DEX product on the same L2 chain.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

VELAR compliance and trust

Trust signal

Compliance1 record

VELAR financial estimates

Financial estimate

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

VELAR leadership team

Management profile

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

VELAR funding detail

Funding detail

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors22 records

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

VELAR M&A and investment

M&A and investment

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about VELAR

What does VELAR do?

Is VELAR a public or private company?

VELAR is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.

When was VELAR founded?

VELAR was founded in 2024. It employs 11 to 50 people.

Where is VELAR based?

VELAR is headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in the Middle East region.

How does VELAR make money?

Two revenue lines are on record. DEX Trading Fees are the primary driver. The others are IDO Launchpad Fees.

Who are VELAR's main competitors?

Broad incumbents on record are GMX, Uniswap, Hyperliquid and dYdX. Emerging players are Aevo, Zest Protocol and SushiSwap. Direct peers are Apex Protocol, ALEX (formerly ALEX Lab) and Bitflow Finance.

Does VELAR have an API?

Yes. Velar provides public REST APIs for developers to access various data points across the protocol. Available endpoints include: GET /tickers (all token data), GET /tokens (token details with optional symbol parameter), GET /circulating-supply (VELAR token supply), GET /prices (current prices), GET /prices/:contractAddress (price by contract), GET /prices/historical/:contractAddress (historical prices with interval options: hour, week, month, year), GET /pools (liquidity pool data), GET /pools/:lpTokenContractAddress (pool by LP token), GET /pools/:poolToken0ContractAddress/:poolToken1ContractAddress (pool by token pair). The API enables integration for token information, real-time price feeds, historical price analysis, supply statistics, market data, and pool/liquidity data. Developer documentation is at docs.velar.com/velar/developers/velar-api.

What industry is VELAR in?

VELAR's product category is Decentralized Finance Protocol. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSADABAE, Perpetuals & Derivatives DEXs, with a secondary code of FSADAMAH, Liquidity Management & Market-Making Protocols. Its NAICS code is 523210 and its SIC code is 6221.