An Arc incubator program · Network School
ârcarena
The proving ground where problems meet talent meets capital.
Ship in 36 hours on Bitcoin or AI. Win a real first check. Climb a funding ladder to a fundable seed.
Fulgur Ventures · Curious Ventures · Solana Superteam, in the room.
Doors open in
01How it works
The thesis is the brief. The check is the prize.
One model, two sides of the same room. Builders ship to a thesis; investors fund what ships.
For builders
- 01
Build to the thesis
The sponsor's request for startups is the track. Pick a prompt and ship something real on Bitcoin in a weekend.
- 02
Win the check
The firm's first investment is the prize, not swag. You demo live to the people who write it.
- 03
Climb the ladder
Keep shipping and milestone funding follows, from a working demo to a fundable seed round.
For investors
- 01
Set the thesis
Your investment thesis becomes the track's request for startups. Curated builders self-select to it.
- 02
See it built
Watch five hand-picked teams ship against your thesis in one weekend. First look, while the code is still warm.
- 03
Write the first check
Back the best on the stage, then follow on at each rung of the ladder as they prove out.
02The tracks
Three arenas. Pick your fight.
From a sharp thesis to a blank canvas: build to Fulgur's Bitcoin brief, on Solana with Superteam, or whatever you are curious about. Opinionated to open, left to right.
PrizeFirst check + a builder residency
Bitcoin infrastructure for the next 4 billion people. Build to Fulgur's four requests for startups.
Good looks like. Bitcoin native, not bolted on. Emerging-market relevance. Coachable founders.
Prize$2,500+ in cash prizes
High-throughput, consumer-ready apps on Solana, with the Superteam community and its network behind you.
Good looks like. Fast, cheap, and built to reach real users on Solana.
PrizeFirst check + a hacker house spot
Build whatever you are curious about. Distribution is the only moat, so any vertical wins if it reaches users. Agents especially welcome.
Good looks like. Distribution baked in, not bolted on. Agents that win their own users.
03Requests for startups
Thirty-one ideas worth a company.
The funds published exactly what they want built. Claim one at kickoff, or bring your own in the same spirit.
Bitcoin track · Fulgur Ventures
The source- 01
Bitcoin savings apps
Everyone will save in bitcoin, but across Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines and beyond there is still no simple way to buy a little every week. Get 20,000 users buying $200 a week and you have the backbone of the global bitcoin banking system.
- 02
TradFi exploits
Fiat is a leaky ship and bitcoin is not. Find the ways bitcoin drains energy from the old system: inheritance wrappers, proof of reserves, anything that demonetises real estate or gold.
- 03
Bitcoin financial services and cyber infrastructure
Most of TradFi has no bitcoin-native equivalent yet: prime brokerage, structured credit, derivatives clearing. Plus security, where proof of work can raise the cost of attacks until they stop being economic.
- 04
Universal payments
No consumer, business, or AI agent should have to choose between Lightning, Ark, Spark, or ecash. Abstract the rails into one experience, privacy by default, bridging UPI, Pix, and FPS.
Open track · Curious Ventures · Next Fundable Ideas
The sourceTwenty-seven startup ideas on the Behavioral Fork thesis. Every one survives four market shifts, and the tie-breaker is always the same: distribution is the only moat.
- Agentic AI
- Web3 maturity
- Micro-earning
- Creator-led products
Agentic commerce
Every product and brand gets a dedicated AI agent that onboards, supports, and sells. The agent-to-agent thesis in action.
Hottest venture category
Quest and micro-task platforms
Brands post micro-tasks with micro-payouts: UGC, reshares, check-ins. Web3 questing mechanics on web2 rails.
The edge is distribution
Influencer-led marketplace
Trust is the gap in online brand discovery. A creator-led marketplace: quest-based micro-distribution, productized.
Validates the thesis
Plus 24 more in the deck
- The AI creative stack
- Stablecoin remittance rails
- Work-from-home AI enablement
- GenAI animation and microdrama
- Monetized AI selves
- Faith-tech AI
- Earn-more apps
- AI in the group chat
- Culturally native social
- Global D2C from local
- Regional beauty and fashion AI
- Next-gen gaming
- AI-first fintech
- Creator-distributed AI tutors
- Creator content licensing
- Royalty-backed creator finance
- Elder companion AI
- Snackable mobile entertainment
- On-device edge AI
- Consent-driven data wallets
- AI diligence for syndicates
- AI for collective action
- The pet economy
- Rural creator commerce
The alpha is in choosing. Claim yours at kickoff.
04Who backs it
Who is behind the check.
The leading venture firm focused exclusively on Bitcoin and the Lightning Network.
- Founded
- 2019
- Stage
- Pre-seed to Series A
- First check
- ~$50K to $200K typical (third-party estimate)
- Based
- Singapore, registered Delaware
Portfolio
Blockstream · Breez · Voltage · Amboss · Fold · Casa · Alby · Umbrel · Bitrefill
Distribution-first pre-seed fund. AI commoditized code, Web3 commoditized capital, so distribution is the only moat.
- Stage
- Pre-seed, distribution-first
- Check
- $250K to $500K
- GP
- Ashish Sood
- Focus
- Large Action Models, invisible Web3
Portfolio
Memeland · Pyse
05The funding ladder
Ship once. Then keep climbing.
The hackathon is rung one. Every rung after it is a real check for hitting a real milestone, all the way to a seed round. You climb as far as the work takes you.
- 01
Hackathon
July 11 to 12
Ship a working demo on Bitcoin.
$5,000
- 02
Month 1
August
A live product with your first real users.
$25,000
- 03
Month 2
September
Traction that compounds week over week.
$100K to $250K pre-seed
- 04
Month 3
October
A fundable seed story, told in numbers.
Series A introductions
06The teams
Five seats. Five companies.
Up to five pilot teams are selected. Each picks a problem, ships it, and climbs the ladder. Their progress shows up here as the program runs.
- Seat 01
Seat open
Bitcoin savings apps
- Seat 02
Seat open
TradFi exploits
- Seat 03
Seat open
Bitcoin financial services + cyber infra
- Seat 04
Seat open
Universal payments
- Seat 05
Seat open
Open: a Curious fundable idea, or your own
07Prizes and judges
What you are playing for.
$3,000+
in cash across the tracks, and the funds bring more than cash
The VCs do not do cash prizes. They do better: a first check, a builder residency, and a spot in the hacker house. Keep shipping and the ladder pays out, all the way to a seed.
The judges
- To be announcedFulgur Ventures
- To be announcedArc
- To be announcedBitcoin ecosystem
How it is judged
- 01
Problem clarity
Is the problem real, sharp, and worth solving now?
- 02
Bitcoin integration depth
Is Bitcoin native to the build, not bolted on?
- 03
Traction potential
Could this reach real users and compound?
- 04
Demo plus commitment
Does it work live, and will the team keep building after?
08Run of show
A produced weekend, not a free-for-all.
- Sat 09:00DoorsBadge up, breakfast, first real conversations. No lanyard limbo.
- Sat 10:00KickoffThe thesis, the RFS, the rubric, the ladder, and the clock, presented like a premiere.
- The 36 hoursThe BuildHeads down through the night. Mentors on the floor, the sponsor in the room, checkpoints that keep the energy up.
- Sun 14:00Demo TheaterEvery team on a real stage, to judges, founders, and the people who write the check.
- Sun 17:00JudgingLive and on the record, scored against the published rubric.
- Sun 21:00The FinaleThe check is awarded and rung one opens: who advances to month one of the ladder.
09The base layer
You just build. We handle the rest.
You bring the build. Arc and Network School handle everything else: a residential campus with housing and meals, fast wifi, and turnkey legal. Show up and ship.
- Housing on the NS campus
- All meals and coffee
- Fast wifi and power
- SEZ legal incorporation via Arc
Forest City, Johor, Malaysia, a short hop from Singapore · Travel for selected builders: details soon. · One premium item for every builder who ships.
10Partners
In your corner.
- ArcHost and base layer
- Fulgur VenturesBitcoin track
- Curious VenturesAgentic track
- Solana SuperteamCommunity partner
- Network SchoolCampus
11Questions
Before you ask.
How do I get in?
Apply and you are reviewed. Up to five teams are curated for edition one, so a clear, shipped track record matters more than a long form.
What do I build?
Anything where Bitcoin is load-bearing, against one of Fulgur's four prompts. Working prototypes over slideware.
What does it cost to compete?
Nothing. Selected builders get the room, mentors, meals, and the stage. Travel and lodging: details soon.
Who owns what I build?
You do. arcarena does not take your IP. The check and any capital are separate, opt-in conversations.
What team size works best?
Teams of two to four. Solo builders can find a team in the group. Four is the cap, five-plus spend too long coordinating.
Can I bring existing code?
Bring your libraries and tools, not a finished product. The work toward the prize should start at the event.
How does the money work?
The sponsor's first check is the prize, then the ladder pays out at the month one, two, and three milestones. Specifics are confirmed per edition.
12Apply
Take a seat in the arena.
One weekend, five seats, and a ladder that pays out to a seed round. Builders ship; investors get first look. Bring something real to build on Bitcoin.
- 01Join the builder groupOne WhatsApp group, everyone in it. Meet the builders and form a team of two to four.
- 02Pick your trackBitcoin with Fulgur, or agentic with Curious. Claim a request for startups.
- 03Build and winShip Saturday to Sunday. The best teams take the check and climb the funding ladder.
Final seats by invite · July 11 to 12, 2026 · Network School campus