Bitcoin is its own network state, to borrow a term from Balaji Srinivasan. That is, while Bitcoin proponents aren’t bound to one geographical region (quite the opposite, actually) they have collective power and can enact change.

We just saw some version of this power exercised in the U.S. political sphere, as the Bitcoin (and crypto) lobby fiercely supported pro-Bitcoin candidates in the recent U.S. election cycle. Because this lobby was so strong, many pro-Bitcoin candidates were elected or re-elected into positions of power.

One could argue that Trump won the election because he embraced Bitcoin, while Harris could only seem to muster up the ability to make lukewarm, offbeat statements about being pro-crypto (statements that some at Bitcoin Magazine found inauthentic and even borderline offensive).

Now, there’s another opportunity for the Bitcoin community to rally behind a candidate. For the first time in the history, a country has a presidential nominee who’s running on the notion of putting her country on a bitcoin standard. That country is Suriname and that candidate is Maya Parbhoe.

Parbhoe understands the transformative power of bitcoin and believes that making it legal tender can help get Suriname’s 600,000 citizens out of “survival mode,” as she puts it.

So, my question to you as a Bitcoin enthusiast is this: Do you want to watch as Parbhoe attempts to make history or do you want to play a role in helping her make it?

In other words, are you going to contribute to her campaign — as Bitcoin allows you to do from anywhere in the world permissionlessly — or are you going to be a spectator?

🚨 Corruption has no place in our future!

We can't keep trusting a system that deceives us.

It's time to act!

Verifying every action is the key to a Suriname free of corruption.

Your support is crucial. https://t.co/rBQxhqq7zm #maya2025 #bitcoin pic.twitter.com/hkXZislsAl

— Maya Parbhoe (@MayaPar25) November 23, 2024

(You can track how donations are spent here.)

You can also reach out to Parbhoe’s campaign via hello@maya2025.com to offer support in other ways if you feel so inclined.

The election takes place in May 2025, and Parbhoe and her team are currently gearing up for campaign season (including obtaining the funds to campaign). It’s hard to say just yet how much of a shot she has at winning, but she’ll likely have less of one without your support.

So, if you’d like to see the Bitcoin network state include another nation state, you have the opportunity here to play a part in potentially making that happen.

(Author’s note: Please keep in mind that this piece is not necessarily an endorsement of Parbhoe but a call to action for those who support her.)

This article is a Take. Opinions expressed are entirely the author’s and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.

Bitcoin scaling proposal Ark is getting closer to reality. After a year of research focused on refining the reference implementation, Ark Labs announced today the completion of a $2.5 million pre-seed funding round led by Tim Draper and his firm, Draper Associates. While the technical feasibility of Ark’s approach was initially debated, today’s announcement is a strong show of confidence for the future of the protocol and the builders behind it.

Speaking with Bitcoin Magazine, Ark Labs’ co-founder Marco Argentieri expressed excitement about the road ahead, suggesting Ark is ready to provide a significant lift to existing scaling efforts.

“This funding will accelerate our efforts to make Bitcoin transactions as simple and user-friendly as possible, making fast, low-cost user-friendly transactions powered by Bitcoin a reality for potentially billions worldwide.”

Initially conceived as an alternative to the Lightning Network, Argentieri emphasizes that his company’s immediate focus is on supporting the adoption of Bitcoin’s popular Layer 2 solution.

“Lightning has made tremendous strides recently,” he said. We believe we can leverage this network effect to bring Ark to market and enhance the self-custodial experience for existing Lightning users.”

Ark addresses these challenges by utilizing trustless servers, allowing Lightning users to mitigate the difficulties typically encountered with operating Lightning infrastructure. A recent trend in reducing the costs of on-chain operations related to liquidity management has been to rely on custodial or federated options such as the Liquid sidechain.

“Unfortunately, this approach introduces custodial trade-offs that conflict with Bitcoin’s original vision. Ark has the potential to overcome these challenges at scale without compromising trust,” says Argentieri.

Asked about his motivation behind the investment, lead investor Tim Draper echoed the sentiment:

“Soon many people around the world will live on the Bitcoin standard. Today, we have to focus not only on how to buy and store Bitcoin but how to use it as a medium of exchange for everyday purposes. Ark’s architecture allows for seamless Bitcoin payments, in a way that stays true to its core principles of decentralization and self-custody”

One of Ark Labs’ early challenges was to transform the Ark protocol from a raw concept into a fully realized solution. According to Argentieri, the initial documentation and parameters proposed by its creator were not fully fleshed out and sometimes hindered a broader understanding of the technology.

“Many of the concepts lacked full development, and the arbitrary numbers being discussed failed to capture the protocol’s flexibility, particularly in addressing liquidity issues,” he explained.

Perhaps the most notable confusion has been around the need for covenants. Bitcoin covenants are smart contract restrictions that limit how and where future transactions can be spent, enhancing security and control over funds. While covenants can significantly contribute to the user experience around Ark as well as potentially improve capital efficiency, Argentieri insists that a good number of use cases can already benefit from a “covenant-less” version:

“Different types of users can leverage Ark’s features. While mobile clients are more challenging right now, using pre-signed transactions is a viable alternative to covenants for online servers.”

He also believes his company is well-positioned to deliver the first production service that can validate the potential of the technology. “When Ark is operational with actual capital deployed and large numbers of users benefitting from the infrastructure, it should help make a strong case for covenants”.

The team recently released an alpha version of the covenant-less implementation, now available on GitHub. Soon to follow will be the Ark Node, an Ark-enabled wallet, allowing users to send, receive, and swap Bitcoin over the Lightning Network, all within a user-friendly dashboard. Interested users should sign up on the website to receive updates for the closed beta testing in early September, with a broader rollout expected later this year.

Joining this funding round are Bitcoin-focused funds Axiom and Fulgur Ventures, along with prominent angel investor Stephen Cole. Allen Farrington, general partner at Axiom, shared his enthusiasm for the project: “We are excited to support what appears to be a substantial breakthrough in broadening Bitcoin’s utility as a means of payment and bringing increased sophistication to the financial infrastructure of the network.”

Ark Labs invites developers, top talent, and potential partners to contribute to its efforts.

Miami-based Bitcoin startup TMRW has raised $1.3 million in pre-seed Funding to develop its social payments app powered by the Bitcoin Lightning Network. Maple VC led the funding round, and Bitcoin angel investors like Brad Mills joined the round.

TMRW aims to leverage the Lightning Network’s speed and low costs to enable cross-border peer-to-peer payments via Lightspark and ZeroHash. The app uses Universal Money Addresses, an open payment standard built on Lightning, to send fiat and Bitcoin instantly across borders.

This allows TMRW to facilitate fast, affordable remittances to regions like the Caribbean, where traditional providers charge high fees. Remittances are a major use case for Bitcoin and Lightning as they offer significant cost savings compared to legacy finance.

TMRW co-founder Alexandra Lutchman said the app shows how Bitcoin can unlock borderless payments for family and friends worldwide. The startup wants to illustrate Bitcoin’s everyday utility and make payments social.

The app includes features like adding messages, emojis and images to payments. TMRW also helps onboard new users by allowing them to earn Bitcoin rewards and see how their contacts use Bitcoin.

TMRW is running pilots in the Caribbean and has opened its iOS beta to U.S. users. The Funding will help expand into the American market and make Bitcoin and fiat transfers available globally.

Bitcoin lightning has seen growing adoption for remittances and cross-border transfers, as it offers significant cost savings compared to traditional providers. Remittances are a major early use case for Bitcoin and Lightning, making sending money abroad cheaper and faster.