Tether, the crypto company behind the most popular stablecoin USDT, said on Thursday that it has invested in Ark Labs to bring programmable payments to the Bitcoin network.
The backing was part of a $5.2 million funding round for the startup. Ark Labs develops Arkade, a system that aims to enable faster transactions and the creation of applications on top of Bitcoin. With the new funding, the startup said it has raised about $7.7 million in total.
The project focuses on making Bitcoin usable for payments and financial tools that often require faster settlement and automation. Arkade acts as an execution layer that developers can use to create services such as payment networks, lending tools, and digital asset platforms.
“Bitcoin is the most liquid digital asset in the world, but it has lacked the programmable infrastructure that financial applications require,” said Marco Argentieri, CEO of Ark Labs. “Arkade aims to change that,” he added.
Tether said the funding will help expand infrastructure that could support stablecoins in Bitcoin. Stablecoins are digital tokens pegged to fiat currencies like the US dollar and often move across other blockchains like Ethereum or Tron.
“Stablecoins were born in Bitcoin, and expanding access to the Bitcoin network remains a priority for us,” Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said in a statement.
The investment is part of Tether’s effort to expand beyond its stablecoin issuance roots and improve use of its $185 billion USDT digital token. Last month, the company invested in online marketplace Whop and cross-chain protocol LayerZero.
