Arkade is designed as an extension of Bitcoin. To use it, users need a way to take Bitcoin in and, just as importantly, a way to take it back out. These entry and exit points are called ramps.
  • Boarding (Onboarding) into Arkade can happen in two ways:
    • Peer-to-peer: a user can simply receive a VTXO from another Arkade participant, no onchain interaction needed
    • From Bitcoin: a user can send Bitcoin to a dedicated boarding address, which converts the onchain UTXO into an offchain VTXO inside Arkade
  • Exiting (Offboarding) returns funds to Bitcoin. This can be done:
    • Collaboratively, with the operator, which is efficient and simple
    • Unilaterally, without the operator, which is always possible but more complex and costly
This dual design ensures flexibility: users can seamlessly enter Arkade either by transacting with peers or by boarding directly from Bitcoin, and they always retain guaranteed exit paths back to the base layer.

​
Where to go next

Choose the path that fits your role:

Wallet & Payments

Looking to integrate Arkade ramps into your wallet? Head over to the Ramps: Boarding & Exiting section for code examples and detailed workflows.
 For developers and learners exploring or extending the Arkade SDKs and APIs:

Boarding Arkade

How to board Arkade with a UTXO via the Intent System

Exiting Arkade

How to exit Arkade and convert VTXOs to Bitcoin UTXOs