David Marcus, CEO of Lightspark and a prominent figure in the digital payments space, recently announced the expansion of capabilities on Lightspark’s Spark protocol, indicating support for what he termed "Bitcoin tokens" or "BTKN." In a tweet, Marcus stated, > "Bitcoin tokens = BTKN on @spark," signaling a significant step towards enabling new asset classes directly on the Bitcoin network via Lightspark's Layer 2 solution. This development aims to broaden Bitcoin's utility beyond a store of value, facilitating instant and low-cost transactions for various tokenized assets.
Lightspark's Spark is a Bitcoin Layer 2 solution designed to enhance the network's scalability and transaction efficiency. Launched in beta on April 29, 2025, Spark leverages statechain technology and is compatible with the Lightning Network, allowing for near-instant, self-custodial transfers of Bitcoin and other tokenized assets. The protocol addresses the historical challenges of high transaction fees and slow processing times often associated with the Bitcoin mainnet.
Marcus, known for his previous roles as president of PayPal and head of Facebook's Diem (formerly Libra) crypto project, founded Lightspark in May 2022 with a vision to transform Bitcoin into a global, neutral intermediary for money transfers. His company aims to simplify the complexities of the Lightning Network, making it more accessible for businesses and users to integrate Bitcoin into everyday financial operations. Lightspark seeks to establish a robust "money grid" that enables seamless, real-time cross-border payments.
The "BTKN" reference in Marcus's tweet highlights Spark's capability to support the issuance and transfer of various tokenized assets, including stablecoins, directly on the Bitcoin Layer 2. This feature is crucial for enabling use cases that were previously difficult or impossible on Bitcoin, such as programmable money and decentralized finance applications. Spark supports stablecoins issued via protocols like LRC-20, Taproot Assets, or RGB, aiming to integrate these into the Bitcoin ecosystem.
Lightspark has garnered substantial financial backing, having raised $175 million in a funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and Paradigm. Other notable investors include Thrive Capital, Coatue, Felix Capital, Ribbit Capital, Matrix Partners, and Zeev Ventures. This significant investment underscores confidence in Lightspark's mission to build essential infrastructure that will drive the mainstream adoption of Bitcoin for global payments and tokenized assets.