Arch Labs has secured a $7 million investment to develop a Bitcoin-native application platform. Multicoin Capital led the seed funding round, with participation from other key players such as Portal Ventures, OKX Ventures, Big Brain Holdings, and more.
The investment aims to fuel Arch's development of decentralized finance (DeFi) applications directly on the Bitcoin blockchain. This approach eliminates the need for secondary layers or bridges, simplifying user experience and maintaining the inherent security benefits of operating on the Bitcoin network.
According to Arch's co-founder and CEO Matt Mudano, this funding marks a pivotal moment in Bitcoin's evolution, enabling the creation of a new application ecosystem leveraging Bitcoin's security and liquidity.
The primary focus of the raised funds is to expand Arch Labs' development team. By onboard additional skilled developers, Arch aims to accelerate the creation and enhancement of decentralized applications.
Arch features a parallelized, proof-of-stake mechanism with a Rust-based zkVM called the ArchVM, along with a decentralized verifier network, establishing a trustless execution environment within the blockchain.
Multicoin Capital Investment Principal Vishal Kankani highlights that Arch distinguishes itself from Bitcoin Layer 2 solutions by prioritizing security over speed. Arch does not require users to bridge assets to an untrusted chain, ensuring a more secure environment.
Apart from team expansion, Arch Labs plans to launch a public development network (devnet), followed by a mainnet release scheduled for the latter half of the year. These steps will enable early testers and future users to explore the platform's capabilities, enhancing stability and functionality before a full-scale public launch.
May 2024, Cryptoniteuae