What is Ark?
The Ark coin or ARK is the utility coin native to the ARK Network. The latter provides a Layer 1 blockchain solution powered by the TypeScript programming language.
As a utility coin, ARK is responsible for powering the entire ARK ecosystem. It’s paid out as an incentive to network participants who take part in securing the ARK Network.
It’s impossible to mine ARK coins. This is because the ARK Network uses a Delegated-Proof-of-Stake (DPoS) consensus mechanism. Therefore, the only way users can obtain ARK coins is via the major exchanges listed above.
There is no maximum supply of ARK coins. This makes ARK inflationary.
ARK is a cryptocurrency, therefore, its price tends to fluctuate. To find out more details about this, you can have an in-depth look at the ARK price history or the current ARK price on the graph above.
What are the Main Features of Ark?
Ark is a blockchain-based infrastructure for creating custom blockchains. Besides complete freedom of customization, blockchains built on Ark are completely interoperable.
Speed is one of the core benefits of the ARK Network. Its average block time stands at around 8 seconds. To put this into perspective, keep in mind that Bitcoin’s average block time is around 10 minutes.
It’s an entirely open-source project meaning that anyone can access the code.
As discussed in the What is Ark section, ARK coins are created via the Delegated-Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism. It has a fixed number of 51 delegates a.k.a. validators, all of which are chosen by network participants through the process of staking ARK coins.
Users must hold at least one ARK coin so they can delegate it to a validator.
Most importantly, ARK holders get to keep their coins even when they’re delegating them to a validator. This means that there is no token locking up period.
As mentioned in the What is Ark section, delegators are rewarded with ARK coins for providing their services. Besides securing the network, delegators have the power to submit proposals on improving the ARK ecosystem. The remaining network participants then vote on these proposals which are implemented into the network
ARK coins also enable ARK Network participants to become delegators themselves.
Having DPoS as the core consensus mechanism securing the ARK Network is more environmentally friendly than other popular consensus mechanisms such as Proof-of-Work (PoW) used by Ethereum or Bitcoin.
The ARK Protocol or the ARK Core is the Layer 1 blockchain solution that enables developers to build blockchain-based projects using Ark. The first blockchain to be created using the ARK Protocol was the ARK Network.
One of the primary goals of the project is to lower the barrier of entry into the world of blockchain technologies for developers without any experience in blockchain.
In addition, it aims to tackle the major issues that blockchain networks have to deal with. This includes scalability, speed, and security.
Since ARK is based on the TypeScript programming language, the blockchain solution is a lot more accessible than other blockchain infrastructures that require an in-depth knowledge of blockchain-based programming languages like Solidity.
In addition to TypeScript, Ark supports other major programming languages including Python, Java, Swift iOS, Ruby, Go, NET, Elixir, RPC, and PHP.
The Ark ecosystem comes with integrated blockchain-based tools such as ArkScan and ArkLauncher. In addition, it provides an exclusive digital wallet called the ARKVault that users can access from any type of device with an internet connection.
Most importantly, developers can easily integrate the ARKVault into their ARK-based blockchain.
Who Developed Ark?
The Ark crypto project was launched in 2016 while the ARK Public Network was launched a year later. It’s backed by an international team that’s based all over the world.
Ark is officially registered under the name ARK Ecosystem SCIC. However, the project is also known as just Ark.io which is the name of its website.
Francois-Xavier Thoorens is one of the co-founders of the ARK Ecosystem. He served as the CEO from the launch of ARK Public Network until mid-2021. Rok Černec, also a co-founder of Ark, worked together with Thoorens as the Vice President of Ark.
When it comes to advisors, Ark has managed to put together a solid supervisory board whose core members are Lars Rensing, Matthew Cox, and Scott McPherson.
In 2016, the team of Ark announced an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) event. It was held from early November to early December. The ICO allowed the team to raise around 800,000 US Dollars for Ark. Investments came in the form of BTC, ETH, and LSK, among many other cryptocurrencies.
Out of the total supply, around 125,000,000 ARK coins were distributed to ICO investors. In other words, 75% of ARK was distributed to ICO investors, 15% to the founding team, 7% to ARKShield, 2% to bug bounty programs, and 1% remained in escrow.
In addition, the ARK Ecosystem has signed partnerships with major blockchain players including nOS, WOLFRAM, and Changelly.
Please make sure to do your research before diving into any crypto projects, Ark included. You can start by checking the ARK price on the graph above.
