What IOVLabs does

IOVLabs, operating through its RootstockLabs brand, is a Buenos Aires-headquartered non-profit established in 2015 that builds Bitcoin infrastructure for financial applications. Its core product is Rootstock, launched in 2018 as the first Bitcoin sidechain, which combines the security and store-of-value properties of the Bitcoin network with the smart contract programmability of Ethereum, and is protected by leading Bitcoin miners. The supporting RIF (Rootstock Infrastructure Framework) provides infrastructure, governance token, and interoperability services that sit on top of Rootstock to accelerate ecosystem adoption.

The company serves three primary customer segments: developers building decentralized applications on Bitcoin-secured rails, fintech companies deploying Bitcoin-secured financial products, and institutions seeking institutional-grade Bitcoin-secured infrastructure. End users benefit indirectly through payments, savings, borrowing, investment, and cross-border value transfer applications built on the platform. Go-to-market combines enterprise field sales to institutions and fintechs with community-led developer engagement through Discord, a Core Development Forum, and a Bounty Program.

RootstockLabs generates revenue through subscription-style platform infrastructure services and partner solutions, though no public pricing tiers are disclosed. The organization operates as a non-profit with a global team of 101–250 employees, maintains 100% uptime on Rootstock since launch, and has executed strategic inorganic moves including the 2019 acquisition of taringa!. Ownership, capitalization, and detailed financial information are not publicly disclosed in the available data.

Name

IOVLabs

Legal name

RootstockLabs

Website

https://iovlabs.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

IOVLabs, operating as RootstockLabs, is a non-profit that builds Rootstock, the first Bitcoin sidechain combining Bitcoin security with Ethereum-style smart contracts, serving developers, fintechs, and institutions building Bitcoin-secured financial applications.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Blockchain Infrastructure

NAICS

Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518210), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (5182)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)

akta.pro primary industry

RPC / Node API Infrastructure Providers (FSADAKAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Blockchain Data & Indexing Infrastructure for Finance (Nodes, Indexers, Oracles) (FSAGAMAL), Consortium Networks & Governance (network setup, onboarding, rules, node operations) (FSAPAIAB), Crypto Payments & Stablecoin Settlement Platforms (BPAMAFAL)

Keywords

• Blockchain infrastructure
• Bitcoin sidechain
• Smart contracts platform
• Decentralized finance
• Cryptocurrency development

Headquarters

HQ city

Buenos Aires

HQ country

Argentina

HQ region

Latin America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Platform Infrastructure Services: RootstockLabs generates revenue through providing infrastructure, integrations, and partner solutions for the Rootstock platform. The company enables developers and partners to build applications on Bitcoin's security, providing the technical foundation for financial use cases.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

IOVLabs, operating as RootstockLabs, builds and operates Rootstock, the first Bitcoin sidechain that combines Bitcoin's security and store of value with Ethereum-style smart contract programmability. Through the RIF (Rootstock Infrastructure Framework), the company provides governance tokens, incentives, interoperability, and shared infrastructure that enable developers, fintechs, and institutions to build Bitcoin-secured financial applications at scale.

Product overview

RootstockLabs offers a platform architecture consisting of Rootstock (Bitcoin's Finance Layer) as the core smart contract platform and RIF (Rootstock Infrastructure Framework) as the supporting infrastructure and governance token. Rootstock enables Bitcoin-secured smart contracts by combining Bitcoin's security with Ethereum's programmability, while RIF provides incentives, interoperability, and shared infrastructure to support adoption.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Rootstock: Bitcoin's Finance Layer - a sidechain that enables smart contracts while leveraging Bitcoin's security. Launched in 2018.
• RIF (Rootstock Infrastructure Framework)

Products and services

• Rootstock Rootstock is the first Bitcoin Sidechain and core smart contract platform, combining Bitcoin's security and store of value with Ethereum's programmability. It enables developers and partners to build Bitcoin-secured applications for real financial use cases including payments, savings, borrowing, investment, and cross-border value transfer. The platform is protected by leading Bitcoin miners and has maintained 100% uptime since launch.
• RIF (Rootstock Infrastructure Framework) RIF (Rootstock Infrastructure Framework) is Rootstock's infrastructure and governance token that supports adoption on the Rootstock platform through incentives, interoperability, and shared infrastructure. It provides the economic and interoperability layer that enables developers and partners to build and operate on Rootstock.

Quantifiable outcome

• 100% uptime since launch

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Developers (Ecosystem)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRootstockLabs partners with developers to build applications on Bitcoin's security. The company provides infrastructure, integrations, and support to enable developers to create Bitcoin-secured financial applications.
• Fintech CompaniescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRootstockLabs partners with fintech companies to bring Bitcoin-secured financial use cases to market, providing the integrations and liquidity needed to make applications viable at scale.
• InstitutionscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRootstockLabs partners with financial institutions to enable them to deploy Bitcoin-secured financial infrastructure for institutional use cases.
• Bitcoin MinerscoreTechnology or IntegrationRootstock's security model is protected by leading Bitcoin miners who provide hash power to secure the network, a fundamental component of the platform's security architecture.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Stacks: Stacks is the most direct competitor to Rootstock, offering a Bitcoin L2 with smart contract functionality via Clarity. Both target developers building Bitcoin-secured financial applications and compete for institutional and developer mindshare in the Bitcoin L2 category.
• Blockstream (Liquid Network): Blockstream operates the Liquid Network, a Bitcoin sidechain focused on financial institutions, exchanges, and tokenized asset issuance. Like Rootstock, it is a Bitcoin-anchored sidechain targeting institutional financial use cases, though Liquid emphasizes asset issuance over general-purpose smart contracts.

Emerging players

• Babylon Labs: Babylon is building Bitcoin staking and security-sharing infrastructure that lets other chains leverage Bitcoin's security. It is comparable to Rootstock as a Bitcoin-secured infrastructure play, though focused on shared security rather than a general-purpose smart contract platform.
• Chainlink: Chainlink provides oracle and data infrastructure that connects smart contracts with real-world data. It is comparable to Rootstock as critical Web3 infrastructure enabling financial applications, though at a different layer of the stack (data feeds vs. execution environment).

Broad incumbents

• Polygon Labs: Polygon operates a broad L2/sidechain ecosystem with EVM compatibility and zk-rollup technology. While not Bitcoin-anchored, it competes with Rootstock for developer mindshare in the L2/sidechain infrastructure category and for institutional deployment of tokenized assets.
• Optimism: Optimism is a leading Ethereum L2 using optimistic rollup technology. While not Bitcoin-secured, it competes with Rootstock for EVM-compatible developer attention and for institutional clients evaluating where to deploy programmable financial infrastructure.
• Arbitrum: Arbitrum is the largest Ethereum L2 by total value locked, offering smart contract programmability with lower fees. It is comparable to Rootstock as an EVM-style L2 platform targeting developers of DeFi and financial applications, though anchored to Ethereum rather than Bitcoin.
• Avalanche: Avalanche offers customizable L1s (subnets) and smart contract functionality with high throughput. It is comparable to Rootstock as programmable infrastructure for financial applications and tokenized assets, though not Bitcoin-secured.
• Cosmos (Interchain): Cosmos enables interoperable application-specific blockchains via IBC. It is comparable to Rootstock as infrastructure for custom blockchain deployments targeting financial use cases, though using a different consensus and interoperability model.

Others

• Alchemy: Alchemy is a leading Web3 developer infrastructure platform providing node services, APIs, and tooling. It is comparable to Rootstock as enabling infrastructure for blockchain application developers, though at the tooling layer rather than as a competing execution environment.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/rootstocklabs
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rootstocklabs

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A1 record

Investments16 records

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

Frequently asked questions about IOVLabs