Ark Labs has successfully secured $2.5 million in a pre-seed funding round led by prominent investor Tim Draper and Draper Ventures. The funding aims to advance Ark Labs' development of a self-custodial Layer 2 solution for Bitcoin. This solution is designed to allow users to fully exit unilaterally without requiring a soft fork, thereby simplifying Bitcoin payment processes. The Ark protocol's enhancement is expected to provide more efficient and secure Bitcoin payment solutions.