Arkham (ARKM)

Overview

Arkham is a crypto intelligence platform and exchange built to bring transparency to on‑chain activity across many networks. Instead of being a separate “Arkham blockchain,” the project layers advanced analytics, entity labeling, and a marketplace for blockchain intelligence on top of major chains like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, BNB Chain, Polygon, Base, Arbitrum, Tron, TON, and more. Users explore entity pages, visualize fund flows, set alerts, and trade crypto on the Arkham Exchange. The ARKM token powers this ecosystem. It is used to post and claim bounties on the Intel Exchange, receive discounts and rewards, and participate in governance. Because ARKM sits at the heart of payments and incentives on the platform, interest in ARKM price typically tracks the platform’s adoption and utility over time, though price is dynamic and displayed separately in the live widget. (codex.arkm.com)

With its AI engine “Ultra,” Arkham links blockchain addresses to real‑world entities at scale and makes that insight available through approachable tools. On the Intel Exchange, users can post bounties for specific intelligence, and researchers can claim rewards in ARKM. That marketplace originally launched alongside the ARKM token sale on Binance Launchpad in July 2023, bringing the concept of “intel‑to‑earn” to a mainstream audience. (binance.com)

History & Team

Arkham Intelligence was founded in 2020 by Miguel Morel, a technology entrepreneur who previously co‑founded Reserve Protocol. The company’s early materials also list Henry Fisher as CTO. Morel leads product and strategy, while the broader team focuses on analytics, machine learning, and exchange operations. (binance.com)

The ARKM token debuted on July 18, 2023 as the 32nd project on Binance Launchpad. The public sale price was $0.05, total supply is 1,000,000,000 ARKM, and 5% of supply (50,000,000 ARKM) was allocated to the Launchpad sale. Trading opened that same day on Binance. (binance.com)

Arkham has raised over $10 million in equity funding and is backed by well‑known investors and firms. Public investor lists include Coinbase Ventures, Digital Currency Group (DCG), Bedrock Capital, Tim Draper, Peter Thiel, Sam Altman, Wintermute, and GSR. In November 2023, Binance Labs announced an investment in ARKM to support on‑chain intelligence at scale. (binance.com)

In 2024–2025, Arkham expanded beyond analytics by launching the Arkham Exchange and later rolling out spot trading for U.S. users in 17 states starting March 1, 2025, reflecting a growing regulatory footprint for its trading business. (theblock.co)

Technology & How It Works

Ultra AI and entity mapping

Arkham’s core technology, Ultra, is an AI system that ingests on‑chain and off‑chain data, then algorithmically links addresses to real‑world entities. The platform presents these results through entity pages showing balances, P&L, counterparties, exchange usage, and transaction history. A graph visualizer lets users map complex money flows and relationships quickly. Alerts notify users of custom events like whale movements or large exchange deposits. (codex.arkm.com)

Multichain coverage

Arkham supports a large and growing list of networks, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, BNB Chain, Polygon, Arbitrum, Optimism, Avalanche, Base, Blast, Solana, Tron, Dogecoin, Mantle, Linea, Manta, TON, and more. Users can filter by chain, view “holdings by chain,” and analyze cross‑chain portfolios in one place—useful for DeFi, NFTs, and gaming activity that spans multiple ecosystems. (codex.arkm.com)

The Intel Exchange and intel‑to‑earn

The Arkham Intel Exchange is a smart‑contract marketplace where buyers post ARKM bounties and researchers submit intelligence to claim them. Submissions are reviewed for quality and, if approved, the bounty is paid out (less marketplace fees). At launch, fees were set at 2.5% for makers (bounty posters/auctioneers) and 5% for takers (bounty claimers/auction winners). To reduce spam, submitting intel to a bounty requires staking 10 ARKM; rejected submissions forfeit that stake. (codex.arkhamintelligence.com)

Decentralized verification via Chainlink Functions

To bring verification on‑chain in a trust‑minimized way, Arkham integrated Chainlink Functions. A Chainlink Decentralized Oracle Network (DON) now sits between the Arkham Foundation’s verification and the payout smart contracts—an important step toward fully decentralized intel verification over time. (info.arkm.com)

Governance

ARKM holders can submit Arkham Improvement Proposals (AIPs) and vote on marketplace parameters, fee changes, and treasury usage. Proposal submission requires at least 0.1% of tokens owned or delegated; quorum is 7% with simple majority to pass during a 7‑day vote. Early proposals included deploying Chainlink verification, adding Solana support, setting up a Treasury pool, and enabling shared bounty staking. (codex.arkhamintelligence.com)

Tokenomics & Utility

Fixed supply and allocations

ARKM has a fixed initial supply of 1,000,000,000 tokens. The initial allocation is:

• Ecosystem Incentives & Grants: 37.3%
• Core Contributors: 20.0%
• Investors: 17.5%
• Foundation Treasury: 17.2%
• Binance Launchpad: 5.0%
• Advisors: 3.0% (codex.arkm.com)

Unlocking follows a long‑term schedule: investor, core contributor, and advisor tokens were locked for one year after listing, then unlock linearly over three years; the ecosystem fund unlocks over five years; the foundation treasury unlocks over seven years. The team states there are no planned emissions beyond the initial supply. (codex.arkm.com)

Utility on the platform

• Marketplace currency: ARKM is the medium of exchange for bounties and auctions on the Intel Exchange—paying for address labels, hack attribution, curated data feeds, and other crypto intelligence. (codex.arkm.com)
• Discounts and rewards: On the Arkham Exchange, users can get discounts on trading fees when they pay in ARKM and based on ARKM balances and activity. Arkham has run points programs where points convert to ARKM after program windows. Separately, ARKM is used for discounts on Pro features like the Arkham API and other platform products, with pay‑in‑ARKM and holding‑based discounts that can stack. (info.arkm.com)
• Governance: ARKM holders propose and vote on AIPs that can adjust marketplace fees, smart contracts, and treasury deployments. (codex.arkhamintelligence.com)

Marketplace fees and flows

At marketplace launch, makers faced 2.5% fees and takers 5%. Bounty claims include a 15‑day unlock timer after approval, with an optional early withdrawal fee to accelerate access. These mechanisms are designed to keep intel quality high and align incentives among buyers, sellers, and verifiers. (codex.arkhamintelligence.com)

Ecosystem & Use Cases

Arkham sits at the intersection of analytics, trading, and research, serving many audiences:

• Investors and traders: Monitor whale flows, exchange balances, top counterparties, token holder changes, and entity P&L to inform strategies—especially in Arkham DeFi, NFTs, gaming segments where cross‑chain movements matter. Visualizations and alerts help surface actionable signals quickly. (codex.arkm.com)
• Compliance and investigations: Track stolen funds, follow laundering paths, and map suspicious clusters. In February 2025, security researcher ZachXBT used Arkham’s bounty program to link the $1.4B Bybit hack to North Korea’s Lazarus Group, claiming a 50,000 ARKM bounty for the submission. (info.arkm.com)
• Public‑interest attribution: Arkham bounties have targeted high‑profile mysteries. One example widely covered in 2024 was the DJT token creator bounty, which drew mainstream attention to the Intel Exchange model. (en.wikipedia.org)
• Builders and integrations: Using Chainlink Functions, developers can pull Arkham labels on‑chain to build risk screens, rewards logic, and other contract logic that benefits from verified entity data. Arkham has also announced work to bring data experiences to new ecosystems like TON. (arkhamintelligence.com)

Advantages & Challenges

Advantages

• Deep entity intelligence: Ultra maps entities and relationships across chains with granular dashboards, visualizations, and alerts in one interface. (codex.arkm.com)
• Multichain coverage: Broad network support reduces data silos for DeFi, NFTs, and gaming analysis. (codex.arkm.com)
• Intel‑to‑earn incentives: Bounties and auctions create a real market for crypto intelligence, rewarding contributors in ARKM. (codex.arkm.com)
• On‑chain verification path: Chainlink‑powered verification moves intel settlement toward trust‑minimized design. (info.arkm.com)
• Growing investor and partner base: Backing from prominent VCs, market makers, and Binance Labs underscores industry interest. (binance.com)

Challenges

• Privacy debate: Deanonymization remains contentious for parts of the crypto community that value pseudonymity. Coverage of Arkham’s model has included ethical debates about attribution and “dox‑to‑earn.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Data quality and governance: As intel markets scale, ensuring accurate verification and robust governance will be key. The project’s move to Chainlink Functions and AIP process are steps, but decentralizing subject‑matter verification is an ongoing challenge. (info.arkm.com)
• Competitive exchange landscape: Arkham Exchange competes with established CEXs and perps venues; fee innovation and ARKM discounts help, but user acquisition in regulated markets takes time. (info.arkm.com)

Where to Buy & Wallets

ARKM is an ERC‑20 token on Ethereum (contract: 0x6E2a43be0B1d33b726f0CA3b8de60b3482b8b050). That means most Ethereum‑compatible wallets—such as hardware wallets (Ledger, Trezor), mobile wallets (Trust Wallet), and browser wallets (MetaMask)—can hold ARKM. Always verify you are adding the correct contract address when managing tokens. (etherscan.io)

As for where to buy ARKM:

• Centralized exchanges: ARKM launched via Binance Launchpad and is available on major platforms, including Coinbase, which provides a U.S. flow to purchase ARKM through its centralized exchange. Regional availability can vary by jurisdiction and KYC. (binance.com)
• Arkham Exchange: Arkham’s own exchange supports spot and perps, with ARKM‑based fee discounts. As of March 1, 2025, spot trading rolled out for users in 17 U.S. states; availability may expand over time. (theblock.co)
• Decentralized exchanges: Because ARKM is ERC‑20, it is accessible on leading Ethereum DEXs through the token’s verified contract address. Users typically connect an Ethereum wallet, select a pool, and swap from ETH or stablecoins.

If you’re comparing platforms, many users search “where to buy ARKM” to see listings and fee structures, then choose based on custody preference, payment methods, and geographic access.

Regulatory & Compliance

Arkham operates an analytics platform and a trading venue. On the exchange side, the company has taken a phased approach to market entry. In the U.S., Arkham launched spot trading access for users in 17 states on March 1, 2025. Prior posts also noted jurisdiction‑based onboarding limits, such as earlier restrictions for certain countries and for derivatives. These rollouts indicate an evolving regulatory footprint aligned with regional licensing. (theblock.co)

On the token side, Arkham has highlighted compliance practices around custody and vesting. In July 2024, the company transferred team and treasury ARKM from vesting contracts to Coinbase Prime custody to address tax and reporting workflows—an example of centralized, regulated custody used for internal token management. (cointelegraph.com)

Halal and Shariah perspective: Some Islamic finance commentators view Arkham’s model as compatible with Shariah principles because ARKM’s primary functions—paying for crypto intelligence, earning marketplace rewards, and participating in governance—do not inherently involve riba (interest) or gambling (maysir). However, formal certifications can vary by scholar and institution, and as of the latest updates there is no widely publicized, project‑specific Shariah board fatwa for Arkham. In everyday language, you may see “Arkham halal” or “ARKM shariah compliant” used to reflect this functional view; final classifications are typically issued by recognized Shariah boards.

For clarity, Arkham’s analytics tools are also used by compliance teams and investigators to trace funds for public‑interest cases (e.g., exchange hacks), showcasing a use case that aligns with broader regulatory goals of transparency and market integrity. (info.arkm.com)

Future Outlook

Arkham’s roadmap points toward deeper decentralization of intel verification, broader network support, and tighter integrations that bring labels and risk signals closer to on‑chain execution. The Chainlink Functions integration lays technical groundwork for DON‑based verification today and paves the way for more advanced solutions—potentially even zero‑knowledge approaches to “indirect” intelligence verification tomorrow. Continued growth across Arkham DeFi, NFTs, and gaming analytics is likely as more protocols seek entity‑aware insights, and as builders embed Arkham’s labels into dApps and monitoring tools. (info.arkm.com)

On the exchange side, fee innovations, ARKM‑based discounts, and points programs aim to attract active traders. U.S. state‑by‑state expansion for spot access and jurisdiction‑specific derivatives offerings will be important milestones. Meanwhile, governance gives ARKM holders a say in marketplace fees, treasury grants, and protocol improvements, making “Arkham tokenomics” not just a distribution chart but an active policy lever for how the intel economy evolves. (info.arkm.com)

Summary

Arkham combines an AI‑powered analytics platform, a smart‑contract marketplace for crypto intelligence, and an exchange—tying it together with the ARKM token for payments, incentives, discounts, and governance. Rather than creating a new Arkham blockchain, the project rides on top of many chains and helps users see the entities, flows, and behaviors shaping markets. The token’s fixed supply, long‑term unlocking schedule, and in‑app utility underpin Arkham tokenomics, while partnerships like Chainlink Functions and broad multichain support strengthen the technical base. For users comparing tools and tokens, the core questions are straightforward: how useful are Arkham’s insights for your strategy, how convenient is access in your region, and how do you want to engage with the intel‑to‑earn economy? As transparency becomes a defining theme in crypto, Arkham’s approach positions ARKM—and the platform around it—as a notable player in the data‑driven future of digital assets. (binance.com)