MIDL

Bitcoin is a remarkable store of value and a clumsy way to buy a coffee. We led Ark Labs's $2.5 million pre-seed round because the team is fixing the second part without breaking the first.

Making Bitcoin spendable

Ark Labs is building on the Ark protocol, a design for moving Bitcoin quickly and cheaply enough to use in everyday commerce, including at the point of sale. Today a simple Bitcoin payment can be slow and expensive at exactly the moments it needs to be fast and cheap. Ark's approach is built to change that, with a payment experience that feels instant and settles on the most secure network in the world. If Bitcoin is going to be money, and not only digital gold, it has to move like money.

Co-founded by Marco Argentieri, Ark Labs raised alongside Fulgur Ventures and Axiom Capital, with angels including Stephen Cole.

Why we backed it

We have said for years that the world is moving toward a Bitcoin standard, where Bitcoin is not only held but spent. That future depends on infrastructure that makes everyday payments practical. Ark Labs is building that layer at the base, and we are proud to lead its first round and help bring spendable Bitcoin to people everywhere.

Bitcoin holders sit on the most valuable asset in crypto, and most of it just sits there. We led Zest Protocol's $3.5 million seed round to put it to work, safely.

A lending market built on Bitcoin

Zest is a lending protocol that lets people earn yield on their Bitcoin or borrow against it on-chain, built on Stacks and the native sBTC peg. It is the first money market for Stacks-based assets, which means Bitcoin can finally function the way other major crypto assets do in decentralized finance, without leaving the security of the Bitcoin economy behind.

Founded by Tycho Onnasch, the Zest team was incubated at Trust Machines and contributed to two of the most important upgrades in Bitcoin's recent history, the Stacks Nakamoto release and sBTC. We led the round, joined by Binance Labs, Flow Traders, and Asymmetric, among others.

Why we backed it

Our conviction in Bitcoin has never been about price. It has been about what gets built on top.

“Bitcoin L2s like Stacks are set to play a key role in unlocking Bitcoin DeFi.”
Tycho Onnasch

If Bitcoin is going to be the foundation of an open financial system, it needs lending, borrowing, and yield that anyone can access. Zest is building that foundation, and we are proud to lead it early.

The single biggest thing standing between most people and self-custody of their Bitcoin is a string of words on a piece of paper. Lose the seed phrase, lose everything. We led Ryder's $3.2 million seed round to retire it for good.

Self-custody without the seed phrase

Ryder's hardware wallet sets up in under a minute and replaces the seed phrase with TapSafe, a recovery system based on coin-sized NFC tags. To restore access, the physical tags must be brought back together, so there is no single point of failure and nothing to memorize or hide in a drawer. It is self-custody designed for people who are not crypto experts, which is to say almost everyone.

Founded by Louise Ivan Payawal, Ryder raised from a strong group of backers, including angels such as Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko.

Why we backed it

We have championed Bitcoin for over a decade, and the next billion users will not arrive through complexity. They will arrive through products that feel effortless and stay secure.

“What the crypto industry needs more than anything right now are solutions that don't require in-depth technical knowledge while maintaining high security standards.”
Tim Draper

Ryder is building exactly that, and we are proud to anchor the round that gets it into people's hands.

Bitcoin is the most secure, most valuable network in crypto, and for most of its life it has been the hardest to build on. We led Midl's $2.4 million seed round because the team is changing that without compromising what makes Bitcoin Bitcoin.

Smart contracts, native to Bitcoin

Most attempts to make Bitcoin programmable push activity off to sidechains, bridges, or separate layers, adding risk and friction at every hop. Midl takes a different path. Its execution environment lets developers build and run decentralized apps directly on Bitcoin, and even bundle multiple smart-contract interactions into a single Bitcoin transaction. No bridges. No detours.

Founded by Iva Wisher, Midl is already live on testnet with mainnet expected shortly, and more than 20 projects are lining up to deploy.

Why we backed it

Our thesis on Bitcoin has never wavered, and the next chapter is about turning the world's best store of value into a platform developers can actually build on. We led the round alongside Draper Dragon.

“It's rare to be this early to something this big. Midl makes Bitcoin programmable in a way that's never been done before.”
Iva Wisher

Being early to something big is the whole job. We are proud to lead the round backing Midl as it brings real software to Bitcoin.

If Bitcoin is going to hold serious institutional money, it needs serious institutional plumbing. We backed Torram because that is exactly what the team is building.

Institutional rails for Bitcoin

Torram is building the infrastructure layer that financial institutions need to operate on Bitcoin: a decentralized oracle network, on-chain data indexing, a security framework, cross-chain tooling, and the ability to tokenize real-world assets. It is unglamorous, foundational work, the kind that has to exist before the more visible applications can.

Led by Vakeesan Mahalingam, Torram was one of just eight companies selected from more than 200 applicants for the inaugural cohort of our BitcoinFi Accelerator, the program we run with Thesis and Boost VC. It went on to close an oversubscribed pre-seed round, which we joined.

Why we backed it

We have backed Bitcoin since almost no institution would touch it. What has changed is the gravity around it.

“We believe in Bitcoin and there's now a gravitational pull towards Bitcoin.”
Tim Draper

Founder Vakeesan Mahalingam sees the same demand we do: serious capital wants infrastructure built to institutional standards. Torram is building it on the most proven chain in the world, and we are proud to have been there from the first cohort.

We have believed in Bitcoin longer, and more loudly, than almost anyone in venture. So when it became clear that Bitcoin was outgrowing its role as digital gold and turning into a platform to build on, we did not want to watch from the sidelines. We helped start the BitcoinFi Accelerator.

What it is

The BitcoinFi Accelerator is a six-week program we launched with Thesis and Boost VC to fund and mentor the founders building decentralized finance, social apps, and infrastructure directly on Bitcoin. Each team gets capital, mentorship, and access to our network, and the first cohort began in November 2024. The goal is simple: find the best builders in the ecosystem early, and back them the day they need it.

Why we are doing this

Boost VC, run by Adam Draper, launched the very first Bitcoin accelerator more than a decade ago. Thesis has spent years shipping real Bitcoin products. We have seen what happens when you back conviction founders before the rest of the market understands the opportunity. Some of our earliest bets, from Coinbase to Tesla to SpaceX, came from exactly that instinct.

“Bitcoin is entering its next chapter as a platform for real-world solutions. The potential of Bitcoin as both a global currency and a technology stack is enormous, and this program will help unlock it.”
Tim Draper

Companies from the first cohort, including Torram, are already building the rails for institutional finance on Bitcoin. This is how we fund the future first: not by waiting for the winners to appear, but by helping create them.