Arc Labs has officially launched “Arcade,” a native Bitcoin execution layer designed to enable programmable financial applications directly on the Bitcoin network. The project secured $2.5 million in pre-seed funding in August 2024, led by Tim Draper, with additional support from Filger Ventures and Axiom. Arcade aims to facilitate the rapid development of scalable and efficient applications on Bitcoin without relying on sidechains, wrapped tokens, or altering Bitcoin’s fundamental protocol.
Marco Argentieri, CEO of Arc Labs, emphasized that while Bitcoin remains the most secure and robust digital asset globally, it has traditionally lacked dynamism. Arcade transforms Bitcoin’s transaction layer into a virtualized financial platform that supports instant operations, enhanced programmability, and grants users full control over their assets. The system is currently undergoing experimental trials on the Bitcoin network, with early collaborators including Tether, Boltz, Breez, and Mempool Space. Importantly, Arcade maintains Bitcoin’s core security model and avoids the use of wrapped tokens or new consensus mechanisms.
Tim Draper highlighted Bitcoin’s growing prominence as the leading digital asset worldwide and suggested that Arcade’s virtualization approach could be instrumental in evolving Bitcoin into a permissionless financial system. Since January, Arc Labs has observed significant demand for the platform, with numerous projects expressing interest in integration. The company plans to expand Arcade’s toolkit to incorporate BTC-backed lending, basic staking protocols, and multi-asset transaction capabilities. A full public release is anticipated in the third quarter of 2025.
According to Allen Farrington, General Partner at Axiom, Bitcoin has historically taken a cautious approach to transaction throughput and upgrades. In this challenging context, Arcade represents one of the most significant technical advancements since the Lightning Network. Further details on Arcade will be presented by Marco Argentieri during his keynote address at the Bitcoin 2025 conference in Las Vegas.
Source: bitcoinmagazine
