Tether, the crypto company behind the most popular stablecoin USDT, said on Thursday it had invested in Ark Labs to bring programmable payments to the Bitcoin network.
The support is part of a $5.2 million funding round for the startup. Ark Labs developed Arkade, a system designed to allow faster transactions and build applications on top of Bitcoin. The startup said it has raised a total of about $7.7 million in the new funding round.
The project focuses on making Bitcoin usable for payments and financial instruments that typically require faster settlement and automation. Arkade acts as an execution layer that developers can use to build services such as payment networks, lending tools, and digital asset platforms.
“Bitcoin is the most liquid digital asset in the world, but it lacks the programmable infrastructure needed for financial applications,” said Marco Argentieri, CEO of Ark Labs. “Arkade aims to change that,” he added.
Tether said the funding will help expand the infrastructure supporting the Bitcoin stablecoin. Stablecoins are digital tokens pegged to fiat currencies such as the U.S. dollar and typically circulate on other blockchains such as Ethereum or Tron.
“Stablecoins were born from Bitcoin, and expanding access to the Bitcoin network remains our top priority,” Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said in a statement.
The investment is part of Tether’s efforts to expand beyond its stablecoin issuance base and enhance the utility of its $185 billion digital dollar token, USDT. Last month, the company invested in online marketplace Whop and cross-chain protocol LayerZero.
