Arx Research raises $6.1 million seed round to launch 'Burner Terminal' stablecoin and fiat point-of-sale device

Hardware and software firm Arx Research has raised a $6.1 million seed round led by Castle Island Ventures, with participation from Inflection, Placeholder, Seed Club Ventures, and 1kx.

The round was structured as a Simple Agreement for Future Equity (SAFE), Arx Research co-founder and CEO Cameron Robertson told The Block, declining to disclose the timing or a post-money valuation.

The funding supports the launch of "Burner Terminal" — a handheld point-of-sale device that brings digital assets and traditional payments into a single unit. The terminal accepts stablecoins and both contactless and chip-and-PIN cards, with EMV certification for security, compliance, and compatibility with existing payment systems. EMV-certified means the device meets the technical standards set by EMV — a global specification created by Europay, Mastercard, and Visa for payment cards and terminals.

"Stablecoins have already proven themselves for high-value payments and b2b, but the last mile to physical retail has been missing," Castle Island Ventures Founding Partner Nic Carter said. "Burner Terminal makes them relevant to brick and mortar for the first time."

The compact device also integrates with the digital payments network Flexa, offering merchants optional support for Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and other crypto assets, as well as stablecoins.

"We built Burner Terminal from the ground up to give both merchants and customers a new way to pay that has the benefits of cash without being tied to traditional payment rails that incur high fees," Robertson said. "Burner Terminal brings stablecoin payments into the physical world with the same simplicity as tapping a card."

Aimed at small merchants — from food trucks to salons — the Burner Terminal offers tap-to-pay crypto payments that operate outside traditional EMV card rails, allowing direct stablecoin transactions without intermediaries or chargebacks, the team explained in a statement. Customers can pay by tapping a phone or a Burner Card, or by scanning a QR code with any supported wallet, with built-in WiFi and LTE, letting merchants take payments anywhere.

"Depending on how the merchant wants to receive funds (e.g. as stablecoins, off-ramped to a bank account or from traditional cards) fees will vary, but we anticipate the minimum fee structures will be close to free if merchants want to accept and hold stablecoins directly," Robertson said.

Doubling down on stablecoin payments

The fresh capital will also be used to scale manufacturing, expand the Burner ecosystem, and prepare for commercial availability, Robertson said, adding that the company plans to grow its six-person team to support distribution. "We're doubling down on making direct stablecoin payments as easy to use as traditional payments."

The Burner Terminal builds on Arx Research's earlier Burner Wallet, which the company claims is used by more than 30,000 merchants and consumers. The two products are intended to function as a unified payments stack for small businesses.

"Burner Wallet (same as Card) is the first hardware wallet that will demonstrate Burner Terminal's novel tap to pay capability. Burner wallet will go live very soon with large ecommerce retailers and is anticipated to arrive in major physical retailers next year," Robertson said. "We're also exploring ways to bring Burner's tap to pay capability directly to smartphones so that existing users can 'import' their cards into a virtual form the same way that they do with traditional credit cards."

Burner Terminal will first launch in the United States, with expansion into the EU and Latin America anticipated pending certification, according to Robertson. The device is set to debut this month, with full commercial availability planned for early 2026.