ARX
Arx Research manufactures secure NFC chips (HaLo/SiLo) with non-extractable cryptographic keys that link physical objects to on-chain assets, serving web3 brands, DAOs, and creators while expanding into crypto-accepting POS hardware.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2022
- HeadquartersMiddletown, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What ARX does
Arx Research, Inc. is a US-based (Middletown) secure-chip manufacturer founded in 2022 that builds hardware-rooted cryptographic infrastructure for connecting physical objects to blockchain-based digital assets. Its core products are the HaLo and SiLo chip lines — NFC chips that self-generate non-extractable secp256k1 ECDSA keypairs at manufacture, supporting EIP-191 and EIP-712 signatures for on-chain authentication, ERC-721-style physically backed tokens (PBTs), and multisig or wallet signer use cases. The company layers an open-source developer stack (LibHaLo, libBurner) and the Ethereum Reality Service (ERS) protocol — a smart-contract layer for decentralized chip provenance and resolution — on top of the chips, and has extended into consumer hardware via the Burner wallet and, in November 2025, the Burner Terminal, a handheld POS device accepting both card and stablecoin payments targeted at small merchants in early 2026.
The company's primary customers are web3-native brands, DAOs, NFT projects, and creators — most prominently KONG Land, for which Arx serves as the primary manufacturing hub and supplies chips to an ecosystem of web3 projects including Azuki, Metafactory, Rags, Poolsuite, OCR, CabinDAO, and KONG Cash. Revenue mechanics are anchored in hardware sales: HaLo chips are sold directly to consumers and developers through store.arx.org (2-pack at $49, with 10-pack and custom form factors available), with bespoke volume pricing handled via a direct sales motion ([email protected]). The November 2025 $6.1M seed round, led by Castle Island Ventures with participation from 1kx, Inflection Point Ventures, Placeholder, and Seed Club Ventures, is the company's first institutional capital and is earmarked to commercialize the Burner Terminal. Arx employs 1–10 people, has not disclosed revenue, and operates as a private, venture-backed independent entity with no parent company identified.
ARX firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- ARX
- Legal name
- ARX Research, Inc.
- Website
- https://arx.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2022
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Arx Research manufactures secure NFC chips (HaLo/SiLo) with non-extractable cryptographic keys that link physical objects to on-chain assets, serving web3 brands, DAOs, and creators while expanding into crypto-accepting POS hardware.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
ARX industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Secure Cryptographic Hardware Chips
- NAICS
- Semiconductor and Other Electronic Component Manufacturing (3344), Semiconductor and Related Device Manufacturing (334413), Bare Printed Circuit Board Manufacturing (334412)
- SIC
- Printed Circuit Boards (3672)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Security & Trusted Hardware ICs (Secure Element/TPM/Crypto) (HDAHABAF)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Secure Elements & Trusted Execution Processors (TPM/TEE/Crypto MCUs) (HDAHAJAK), Confidential Computing & Hardware-backed Protection (TEE/HSM) (HDADAFAJ), Crypto Custody & Exchange Wallet Services (Integrated) (FSADAAAG)
Keywords
Where ARX is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Middletown
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
ARX business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Hardware Sales - HaLo Chips: Direct sales of HaLo secure NFC chips in various form factors (round tags, CR80 cards, rectangular tags, wristbands). Sold in packs of 2 or 10 units through the Arx store. Volume pricing available for larger orders.
- Hardware Sales - Burner Terminal: Handheld POS device supporting both traditional card payments and stablecoin/cryptocurrency transactions. Planned for commercial release in early 2026, targeting small businesses.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | 2x chip pack |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | 10x chip pack |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Volume/Bulk Orders |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels4 records
ARX product offering
Product offeringCore offering
ARX Research manufactures secure NFC chips (HaLo and SiLo) with non-extractable secp256k1 ECDSA keypairs that authenticate physical items on-chain and enable Physically Backed Tokens (PBTs) for linking physical goods to digital assets. The company also offers the Burner hardware wallet, the ERS (Ethereum Reality Service) open smart contract protocol for decentralized chip resolution, and is developing the Burner Terminal, a handheld POS device that accepts both traditional card payments and stablecoin transactions.
Product overview
ARX Research offers a portfolio of secure chip products and protocols for transforming physical items into digital assets. The core offering consists of HaLo chips (Hardware Locked Smart Contracts) - NFC chips with non-extractable secp256k1 cryptographic keypairs that enable physical-digital asset linking for fashion, collectibles, and art. Built on HaLo technology, the Burner hardware wallet provides token storage and message signing via BurnerOS. The Ethereum Reality Service (ERS) protocol layer enables decentralized chip authentication and attestation. The recently launched Burner Terminal extends the portfolio into POS payments accepting both traditional cards and stablecoins. HaLo chip sample packs are sold through the Arx store for developers and creators.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- HaLo: Hardware Locked Smart Contracts — a line of secure NFC chips that self-generate non-extractable secp256k1 ECDSA keypairs, enabling on-chain authentication and physical asset tokenization. Available in multiple form factors including round tags, CR80 cards, rectangular tags, and wrist bracelets.
- Burner
- ERS (Ethereum Reality Service)
Products and services
- HaLo Chips Secure NFC chips with non-extractable secp256k1 ECDSA cryptographic keypairs that authenticate physical items on-chain. Chips self-generate keypairs at manufacture and sign EIP-191 and EIP-712 messages for on-chain/off-chain authentication, asset transfer, and whitelist management. Available in round tags, CR80 cards, rectangular tags, and wristbands. Sold direct to creators and in volume to brands.
- Burner Hardware Wallet Full hardware wallet built on HaLo technology that can store tokens and sign messages. Accessed via the BurnerOS browser web app which leverages libHaLo and libBurner libraries for wallet functionality including EIP-712 and EIP-191 signature support.
- ERS (Ethereum Reality Service) Open set of smart contracts enabling decentralized authentication, claims, and redirection for secure chips. Tracks chip provenance from manufacturer enrollment through brand distribution to end-user authentication and allows brands to attach unique experiences accessible in a decentralized manner. Currently permissioned and in alpha.
- Burner Terminal Handheld point-of-sale device capable of accepting both traditional card payments and stablecoin or cryptocurrency transactions. Designed for small businesses, enabling mobile payments via WiFi and LTE for direct crypto transactions without intermediaries.
Quantifiable outcome
- 10+ years chip longevity
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use ARX
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
ARX technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature5 records
ARX partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- KONG LandcoreArx Research serves as the primary manufacturing hub for KONG Land, supplying secure chips to many DAOs and web3 projects within the KONG ecosystem. KONG Land is described as an experimental cryptostate bridging the physical world to the digital metaverse.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
ARX competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Block (formerly Square): Block ships the Square/Block reader POS hardware and Bitcoin/crypto initiatives. It is comparable to ARX's Burner Terminal ambitions in small-merchant hardware payments, though at vastly larger scale.
- Ledger: Ledger is the dominant consumer hardware crypto wallet maker (Ledger Nano/Stax). It overlaps with ARX's Burner wallet product line and shares the goal of securing private keys in hardware, though Ledger is far broader (full wallet stack, exchange integrations) versus ARX's chip-primitive focus.
- Infineon Technologies: Infineon produces the secure elements and TPMs found in many hardware wallets and government IDs. It is a relevant semiconductor incumbent against which ARX's secp256k1-native keypair offering must differentiate.
- NXP Semiconductors: NXP is a leading supplier of secure element ICs and NFC chips used in payment cards, passports, and crypto hardware wallets. It is the incumbent chip-level competitor to ARX's in-house HaLo secure-element design.
- Yubico (YubiKey): Yubico makes hardware-backed authentication keys used as second-factor and signing devices. Its use of secure elements for non-extractable keys parallels HaLo's core security architecture.
- Trezor: Trezor (by SatoshiLabs) is one of the original hardware crypto wallet brands. It competes for the same hardware-wallet customer ARX targets with Burner and shares a security-first, self-custody positioning.
Direct peers
- Tangem: Tangem makes NFC-based hardware wallets in card form factors — the closest direct analog to ARX's HaLo CR80 cards and round tags with embedded secure elements. Both target tap-to-sign consumer and enterprise use cases.
- CoolBitX / CoolWallet:
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
ARX social profiles
Digital presenceARX financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
ARX leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
ARX funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors6 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
ARX 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 ARX
What does ARX do?
ARX Research manufactures secure NFC chips (HaLo and SiLo) with non-extractable secp256k1 ECDSA keypairs that authenticate physical items on-chain and enable Physically Backed Tokens (PBTs) for linking physical goods to digital assets. The company also offers the Burner hardware wallet, the ERS (Ethereum Reality Service) open smart contract protocol for decentralized chip resolution, and is developing the Burner Terminal, a handheld POS device that accepts both traditional card payments and stablecoin transactions.
Is ARX a public or private company?
ARX is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was ARX founded?
ARX was founded in 2022. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is ARX based?
ARX is headquartered in Middletown, United States, in the North America region.
How does ARX make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Hardware Sales - HaLo Chips are the primary driver. The others are hardware Sales - Burner Terminal.
Who are ARX's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Block (formerly Square), Ledger, Infineon Technologies, NXP Semiconductors, Yubico (YubiKey) and Trezor. Direct peers are Tangem and CoolBitX / CoolWallet.
Does ARX have an API?
No public API is recorded for ARX.
What industry is ARX in?
ARX's product category is Secure Cryptographic Hardware Chips. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAHABAF, Security & Trusted Hardware ICs (Secure Element/TPM/Crypto), with a secondary code of HDAHAJAK, Secure Elements & Trusted Execution Processors (TPM/TEE/Crypto MCUs). Its NAICS code is 3344 and its SIC code is 3672.