BlockSpaces Secures $2M to Launch Bitcoin-native Collateral and Risk Management Platform

TAMPA, Fla., May 28, 2025 -- BlockSpaces, a leader in Bitcoin-native infrastructure, today announced it has raised $2 million in a strategic funding round led by Axiom, with participation from Leadout Capital and other notable investors including Sand Harbor Capital, Lisa Hough of Eberly Energy Ventures, and Bob Burnett of Barefoot Mining. This round brings total capital raised to nearly $10 million and will fuel the launch of ARCC (Auto Reconciled Collateral Contracts), the first Bitcoin-native collateral and risk management platform for institutions. ARCC supports a variety of high-volume Bitcoin-backed bilateral financial contracts, including lending, OTC forwards, and BitBonds.

Institutions cannot effectively interact with Bitcoin using traditional financial infrastructure, which was never designed to handle the unique properties of digital assets. Bitcoin's bearer-based, fully settled nature poses challenges for legacy systems in custody, reconciliation, and risk management. Unlike anything in traditional finance, ARCC expands on Bitcoin's native programmability to act as both the collateral layer and the risk mitigation engine—a dual role not possible in legacy systems. This enables entirely new categories of financial contracts, such as delivered Bitcoin forwards and blockspace derivatives, which require real-time collateral enforcement and on-chain settlement.

As Bitcoin's blockspace becomes increasingly scarce with institutional growth, new markets like blockspace forwards are critical to address volatility and transaction bottlenecks. Currently, time-sensitive transactions are often negotiated outside of Bitcoin's peer-to-peer network, obscuring fees and weakening the protocol's security model. ARCC's unique functionality enables a transparent forward market for blockspace—giving institutions predictable, native access to Bitcoin's limited transactional capacity.

"For Bitcoin to fulfill its potential as the base layer of global money, it's essential that blockspace becomes predictable," said Bob Burnett, CEO of Barefoot Mining. "A forwards marketplace will be a catalyst in reaching that destiny. Barefoot is proud to be the first company in the world to partner with BlockSpaces on this critically important initiative."

ARCC, built on Smart Channel™ technology pioneered by BlockSpaces, leverages Hash Time-Locked Contracts (HTLCs) to create a trust-minimized execution environment and deliver smart-contract functionality natively on Bitcoin. The API integrates directly into institutional workflows to maximize capital efficiency, automate risk controls, and unlock new markets—all without relying on wrapped tokens, sidechains, or custodial bridges.

"Bitcoin is more than a store of value—it's a transformative asset for institutional finance," said Rosa Shores, Cofounder and CEO of BlockSpaces. "Our solution empowers institutions to harness Bitcoin's full potential with unmatched security and operational efficiency. This funding, alongside our new board members, accelerates our mission to set a new standard for Bitcoin-native financial services and modernize capital market infrastructure."

The round reflects growing investor confidence in Bitcoin as a foundational asset for institutional finance. "ARCC from BlockSpaces is paving the way to commercial-grade smart contracts on Bitcoin," said Allen Farrington, Co-Founder and General Partner at Axiom, "utilizing the soundest money we've ever had—without the technological missteps and capital misallocation seen in ex-Bitcoin crypto."

BlockSpaces also announced the addition of two new members to its Board of Directors: Chris Sullivan, Co-Portfolio Manager at Hyperion Decimus, and Anders Larson, Co-Founder of Axiom. They join existing director Steve Brownlie, General Partner at Leadout Capital. "The team at BlockSpaces has long been at the forefront of Bitcoin innovation," said Brownlie. "We're excited to continue supporting them as they launch ARCC." Sullivan added, "ARCC's customizable Bitcoin collateral solution unlocks wide-ranging capital efficiencies, further strengthening the Bitcoin ecosystem."

With this capital, BlockSpaces is poised to redefine how institutions interact with Bitcoin—delivering the infrastructure needed to scale, secure, and modernize digital asset operations.

About BlockSpaces

BlockSpaces is a Bitcoin-native infrastructure company revolutionizing capital markets with programmable, trust-minimized financial solutions. Its flagship platform, ARCC is a collateral and risk management platform for institutions delivering smart contract-like functionality natively with Bitcoin. With seamless API integration into traditional systems, institutions can automate and scale high-volume Bitcoin-backed contracts—including lending, forward contracts, and BitBonds.