Check out the details about Arch secures US$7m funding for Bitcoin centric app development
Arch Labs, the developer of the Bitcoin Centric app development, announced Thursday that Arch Secures US$7M Funding led by Multicoin Capital in a rare deal for the Bitcoin-focused venture capital firm.
Arch Labs co-founder Matt Mudano said Thursday that the round, which began in March and closed in April due to “extraordinary” investor interest, was structured as a Simple Agreement for Future Equity (SAFE) With Token Wares. Mudano declined to disclose the valuation of the round.
The other investors in the round were Portal Ventures, OKX Ventures, Big Brain Holdings, CMS Holdings, and Tangent, according to Arch.
What is Arch?
Arch is said to be the world’s first “native application platform,” bringing “bridgeless” trading directly into the Bitcoin blockchain, Mudano explained. “Arch isn’t a ‘Bitcoin Layer 2 network’ like dozens of other L2s out there,” he said, “it’s a ‘Bitcoin-native’ application platform.” Most Layer 2s, on the other hand, “are designed to improve scalability or add lower fee models to existing blockchains through additional layers by connecting assets to a ‘side chain’ where users would have to give up custody or trust assumptions,” Mudano added. “Arch doesn’t force users to ‘bridge assets’ to access programmable Bitcoin assets.” Mudano said, “User custody” is “the main difference.”
ArchVM is built entirely in Rust, which is “much like Solana” and “much easier to learn” than Bitcoin script. Mudano said that ArchVM is “very similar” to Solana, and developers can deploy applications “almost seamlessly.”
Mudano noted that Arch-based apps will be easy for users to interact with regardless of which Bitcoin wallet they are using. “You don’t need to cross assets or download any special wallets to interact with apps on Arch,” he added. This eliminates a lot of friction and enhances the user experience.”
Arch launch
A number of Bitcoin projects have already begun to migrate to Arch, said Mudano, who added that more than 20 projects, ranging from stablecoins to decentralized exchanges, borrowing/lending markets, and more, are currently building on Arch’s devnet in the cryptocurrency market. The next step in Arch’s rollout is a public Devnet, followed by a mainnet launch later this year.
“At that time,” Mudano said, “we’ll be hosting an incentive points program to help kickstart the ecosystem and show off the first cohort of Bitcoin-ready applications.”
The Arch Foundation will also be supporting the Bitcoin ecosystem with upcoming hackathons and grant programs.
