Tether, the crypto firm behind the most popular stablecoin USDT, said Thursday it has invested in Ark Labs to bring programmable payments to the Bitcoin network.

The backing formed part of a $5.2 million funding round for the startup. Ark Labs develops Arkade, a system that aims to allow faster transactions and application building on top of Bitcoin. With the new funding, the start-up said it has raised about $7.7 million in total.

The project focuses on making Bitcoin usable for payments and financial tools that often require faster settlement and automation. Arkade acts as an execution layer that developers can use to build services such as payment networks, lending tools and digital asset platforms.

"Bitcoin is the most liquid digital asset in the world, but it has lacked the programmable infrastructure that financial applications require," said Marco Argentieri, CEO of Ark Labs. "Arkade aims to change that," he added.

Tether said the funding will help expand infrastructure that could support stablecoins on Bitcoin. Stablecoins are digital tokens pegged to fiat currencies such as the U.S. dollar and often move across other blockchains like Ethereum or Tron.

"Stablecoins were born on Bitcoin, and expanding access on the Bitcoin network remains a priority for us," Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said in a statement.

The investment is part of Tether's effort to expand beyond its stablecoin issuance roots and enhance the use of its $185 billion digital dollar token USDT. Last month, the firm invested in online marketplace Whop and cross-chain protocol LayerZero.