ARK Monthly Update — August 2020 Edition
August is over, and it’s time for a complete ecosystem overview! This blog post will cover last month’s highlights, activities, achievements as well as bring unique content. We also release an update podcast each month on the ARK Crypto Podcast as well as an update video on the ARK YouTube channel. Let’s take a look at what’s been going on at ARK.io and within the ARK Ecosystem.
REMARKS
“August brought with it a large glimpse into two major products joining the ARK product suite soon, MarketSquare and Deployer. ARK.io published an article detailing the future of MarketSquare, the new homepage for the Decentralized Web. A first look into the all-new Deployer, the simplest way to deploy a Blockchain, also went public. The ARK Team and community also celebrated the mainnet launch of Compendia Network built on ARK Core this month. ARK.io also participated in a lot of community engagement during August with AMAs hosted by ChangeNOW and ProBit, as well as community question podcasts and a Major League Hacking workshop. The components of the ARK Ecosystem are coming together well.”
Justin Renken, ARK.io Senior Brand Manager
ROADMAP PROGRESS UPDATE
The ARK Roadmap features various projects and sub-projects that ARK.io is working on. It is a percentage-based project dashboard for the developmental pipeline of ARK technology. Let’s look into a special update on the progress of our roadmap.
MarketSquare.io (Beta). MarketSquare is a platform designed to be a showcase and meeting place for Delegates, Blockchains, Plugins and Businesses in the Economy 2.0. During August, we expanded on the documentation for the new platform, so new users can get the assistance they may need for performing various tasks within MarketSquare. In addition, we released a blog article detailing the future of MarketSquare. The MarketSquare future roadmap is divided into four phases: Socialize, Develop, Educate and Promote. We aim to make MarketSquare into a powerful tool for the entire industry, and the work does not end after the Public Beta release during Q4 2020 by any stretch.
At this time, MarketSquare is a functional platform that has been tested by Alpha testers outside of the ARK Team. With the main design and development completed, we are now implementing the final features suggested by initial testers and squashing the final minor bugs to make MarketSquare as robust as possible. Users can join the Public Beta mailing list to be alerted when MarketSquare goes live during Q4 of this year.
Read first look article here, watch roundtable video here, read features article here, read future roadmap article here, and join Public Beta mailing list here.
ARK Deployer Upgrades. We have been improving the process of creating a customized Blockchain ever since the Alpha version of the ARK Deployer went public last year. In this new version, users will be presented with a far-improved web-based graphical user interface. One-click deployment is also possible with this upcoming version. The new Deployer will support multiple hosting providers as well as provide users with the flexibility to easily deploy servers and entire networks with a few simple steps.
During August, we released a first look article into the all-new Deployer, displaying screenshots of the new UI (currently functional during testing, not mockups) and describing why we feel this product sets a new industry standard for creating a standalone chain. The article goes into heavy detail on the degree of customization developers get, as well as the improved process of deployment. The article concludes with details of the features developers get when managing the chain post-deployment.
The Public Beta mailing list became available during August at Deployer.io.
Check Deployer first look article here. These are a few highlighted items from the ARK Roadmap. View all items and status here.
EXCHANGE NEWS
The ARK Cryptoasset is available on over 30 exchanges and more exchanges are being added all the time — for a full list, visit ARK.io/Exchanges.
Content created by ARK.io is not investment advice nor a solicitation of investment. Consult your financial advisor.
- ProBit Listing. On August 20th, an ARK listing on ProBit went live. ProBit Global offers over 400 cryptocurrencies for trading on its platform.
- ChangeNOW & ProBit AMA. During August, multiple members of the ARK.io Team participated in AMAs hosted by two exchange services, ChangeNOW and ProBit. More details on these AMAs are available in the AMA section of the Monthly Update.
- ChangeNOW ARK Wallet Article. On August 12th, ChangeNOW published an article breaking down the ARK Wallet and describing its features and benefits. Check out the full article here.
TEAM NEWS
ARK was founded by an elite team of Blockchain experts and enthusiasts from around the globe. Now, with more than 30 core team members, from 12 different countries — we take decentralization to a whole new level.
Chief Strategy Officer Matthew DC has some announcements from within the ARK Team for August:
Michel Kraaijeveld Transitions to Lead Developer. As most of you know, Brian was promoted to CTO of ARK a few months ago. Since then, we have been considering what to do with the now-vacant Lead Developer position. I am pleased to inform you all that effective immediately, we have promoted Michel to the position of Lead Developer at ARK. He will help Brian to steer our path forward, improve our overall development processes, guide development across product lines, and keep best practices at the forefront. This promotion is well deserved and we feel confident that ARK development will be in good hands with Michel.
Lúcio Rubens Transitions to Product Lead: Wallets. We have made the decision to combine the mobile and desktop wallet lead positions. This new position will be called Product Lead: Wallets and will be a very important role within the development team. We are proud to announce that Lúcio Rubens will take over this new role and take responsibility as the lead for both the ARK Mobile and Desktop Wallet. He has shown himself to be one of our most capable developers and by joining the oversight of the two products, we can create a level of consistency between our wallets that I think we have been missing at times in the past.
Congratulations to Michel and Lúcio! Keep doing the great work.
View the entire ARK Team here.
ARK TECHNOLOGY USAGE
The ARK Core Framework is an open-source toolbox that developers can utilize to power various use cases using Blockchain technology. The well-documented technology stack coupled with easy Blockchain creation tools such as the ARK Deployer makes it simple for developers to dive into this emerging technology.
Compendia Building with ARK Core. Recently, nOS unveiled a rebrand for its network. Formerly nOS Network, now the network is called Compendia, with the premise of acting as the ‘Wikipedia of databases for your API’. Compendia allow developers to connect their app to free and open databases. During August, Compendia celebrated a no-hitch mainnet release, and the network is operating as intended, due in part to a stable ARK Core codebase and simple tools for customizing a new chain. Congratulations, Compendia!
Check a recent interview with Dean van Dugteren as I play a decentralized game powered by ARK with him, and check Compendia’s announcement articles here and here.
View the nOS Network rebrand article here, which has further links. Hear interview here, and check Compendia announcements here and here.
Unikname Technology Simple Overview Article. Unikname aims to put the ownership and control of user data back into the hands of users through decentralized identities powered by ARK Core. During August, the Unikname blog published a very concise article detailing what’s possible with their platform built on ARK and gets to the root of the ‘why’ for accessible decentralized identifiers. Unikname is also doing some pretty progressive things with NFTs using ARK technology.
View the Unikname article here.
As another piece of news, there were two videos released during August showing ARK technology in action through services operated by Delegates on the ARK Public Network. They are mentioned in the videos section but can also be viewed here and here.
ARK WALLET UPDATES
Our desktop and mobile wallets are highly secure. The desktop wallet even integrates with Ledger Nano hardware wallet devices. They are extremely easy to use and launch instantly with no need to sync. Plus, with the ARK Public Network having eight second block times, you can even see your transactions occur in near real-time. Whether you’re checking your balance, sending and receiving funds, or voting for your preferred Delegate — ARK wallets make it as easy as possible.
DESKTOP WALLET
The current version of the ARK Desktop Wallet is v2.9.3.
Download here and view what’s new in video here.
MOBILE WALLET
The current version of the ARK Mobile Wallet is v1.8.1.
Download for Android or iOS.
ARK CORE NEWS
ARK Core is a lightweight but very powerful codebase that functions as the base component of the entire ARK Ecosystem. Developed in TypeScript, the ARK Core’s modular architecture empowers developers to modify, configure or extend all aspects of the codebase with ease.
ARK Core Version Releases. Taken from the Development Report, the following minor Core releases were made public during this previous month:
- 2.6.52 at Tue, Aug 11, 2020 1:25 PM
Learn more about the ARK Core from this announcement blog article and on the six-part Let’s Explore Core series from the ARK Blog, starting with Part 1 — Infrastructure.
DEVELOPMENT REPORT
The ARK Monthly Development Report covers public releases among ARK open source projects, all pull requests (opened, closed, merged), all issues opened and closed in every ARK Ecosystem public repository, the number of contributors during that month, the number of new stargazers and total lines of GitHub code added or deleted. The report has intricate links to GitHub repos, events and releases. We’d like to extend a huge thanks to all our contributors!
See the Development Report for the recent month here.
NETWORK STATISTICS REPORT
This network statistics report summarizes network activity on the ARK Public Network for the recent month.
Total Network Transactions
Total: 57,459
Avg per block: 0.1725
Per type:
Transfers: 52,470 (91.32%)
Multipayments: 3,860 (6.72%)
Votes: 1,121 (1.95%)
Second Signatures: 3 (0.01%)
Delegate Registrations: 5 (0.01%)
3,792 unique wallets sent an outgoing transaction.
Total Blocks
Full: 84 (0.03%)
Empty: 320,816 (96.33%)
Non-empty: 12,135 (3.64%)
Total: 333,035
Missed: 1,765
Total Network Fees
Total: 2,908.46792185 Ѧ
Per type:
Transfers: 1,800.20192908 Ѧ
Multipayments: 810.42313000 Ѧ
Votes: 246.36647387 Ѧ
Second Signatures: 5.40000000 Ѧ
Delegate Registrations: 46.07638890 Ѧ
Total Network Votes
Voting Wallets: 41,979
Voting Wallets > 1 ARK: 18,480
Total ARK Voting: 85,280,286.37713338 Ѧ
LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITIES
ARK.io is incorporated as an SCIC in France (ARK Ecosystem SCIC), giving us a leg up when interfacing with the legacy financial system. This SCIC is the first of its kind for crypto in France. The business entity is also a founding member of ADAN, an association of blockchain technology companies designed to further the mission of the technology in France and the EU.
- On August 3rd, 2020, ADAN responded to the European Commission’s consultation on an upcoming review of rules pertaining to AML/TF in regards to digital currencies. ADAN is in talks with the Commission to educate them on the capabilities and goals of digital currencies, resulting in fair and effective regulations designed to prevent harm perpetrated by bad actors. ADAN’s position paper published last month is available here. ARK Ecosystem, SCIC President Francois Xavier Thoorens is representing ARK.io as a member of ADAN to advise legislators in France as they discuss the structure of regulatory frameworks expected to appear in early 2021.
Learn more about ARK.io co-founding ADAN here, and see their site here.
ARK TIMELINE
ArkTimeline.com is a community resource built and maintained by the ARK Community Committee. The entire history of all ARK achievements and accomplishments are available there, and they are both sortable and filterable.
Here’s a quick rundown for this past month, excluding events mentioned elsewhere in this update article:
- On August 4th, ARK.io published an article that addresses the concept of banks holding your crypto and discusses the recent communications that came out of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, or OCC. The OCC doesn’t usually come to mind as a major player in cryptocurrency as it pertains to government bodies and private financial institutions, as the SEC has been getting most of the attention in the crypto space. However, the OCC has been coming into the spotlight in a larger way during this year. Read the full article here.
- On August 6th, ARK.io Strategic Partnerships Manager Ray Alvarez published a personal article on what it’s like working in the crypto industry after one year. Ray goes into detail on his personal journey and also discusses the ARK company culture. Read the full article here.
- On August 11th, ARK.io published a blog article celebrating a community-based addition to the ARK Ecosystem. Radians, an ARK-based Blockchain used in a recent Proof-of-Concept, shall be enhanced to service developers using ARK for rapid prototyping. Think of it as a public implementation of ARK technology where node operators agree to run ARK Core Plugins developed by 3rd-party project teams in a public testnet environment. Read the full article here.
- On August 25th, ARK.io celebrated an article published on Protokol, the enterprise Blockchain services arm of ARK.io. The article was published on Crypto A.M., an online news source for crypto. The article goes on to identify key target segments for Protokol as well as various services Protokol offers. Read the full article here.
- On August 27th, ARK.io tweeted about another upcoming workshop hosted by Major League Hacking, one of our partners. These workshops expose developers to ARK technology and offer an interactive environment where there can be a back-and-forth between attendees and hosts.
- All other events and activities are listed elsewhere in this monthly update. All caught up!
- See years of achievements for ARK at ARKTimeline.com.
- See what the future holds for ARK at Roadmap.ARK.io.
- Subscribe for real-time news at Twitter.ARK.io.
VIDEOS
ARK has a growing YouTube channel that features technical discussions and updates, motion graphic explainers, community videos, tutorials, crypto adventure vlogs and more. Watch our videos at Youtube.ARK.io and subscribe to our channel in one click using this special link.
ARK.io Monthly Update July 2020 Video. If you missed it from last month, check out the July 2020 edition of the ARK.io Monthly Update video:
Online Crypto Games powered by Delegate Fun. In August, we highlighted ARK technology in action with a video showcasing crypto games powered by Delegate ‘Fun’ of the ARK Public Network. The video also features an exclusive interview with Dean van Dugteren of nOS and Compendia, powered by ARK Core. Take a look here:
Blockchain Hackathons and ARK.io Partnership with Major League Hacking. We published a video that goes into details on ARK.io’s history with attending and sponsoring hackathons, and sheds more light on our partnership with Major League Hacking. Check it out here:
Free Crypto Every Day with ARK Faucets by Delegates Biz_Classic & Del. In August, we highlighted ARK technology in action with a video showcasing crypto faucets powered by Delegates ‘Biz_Classic’ and ‘Del’ of the ARK Public Network. Watch it here:
Watch our videos at Youtube.ARK.io and subscribe to our channel in one click using this special link.
PODCASTS
The ARK Crypto Podcast releases weekly episodes all about ARK, featuring interviews, monologues, tutorials, reports, presentations and more. The show aims for a 30-minute runtime and releases new episodes every Friday. Subscribe on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Soundcloud, Spotify, Castbox and more. Details, external links and show notes are available at Podcast.ARK.io.
Check out the episodes released this recent month:
Subscribe and see details, show notes, related links, timestamps and more at Podcast.ARK.io.
COMMUNITY SERVICE SPOTLIGHT
Some members mentioned in the Community Service Spotlight are ARK Delegates, who secure the ARK Public Network and provide community services. Their inclusion here is in no way an endorsement from ARK.io to vote for any specific Delegates, and you should always do your own research and consider all the options when voting for a Delegate. ARK.io does not run the ARK Public Network.
Here’s the Community Service Spotlight for this month:
- Delegate ‘Fun’ continued to run ARK games online with daily ARK prizes.
- Delegates ‘Biz_Classic’ and ‘Del’ ran ARK faucets here and here.
- Delegate ‘Alessio’ located and reported vulnerabilities.
- Delegates ‘Goose’ and ‘ArkMoon’ continue their service, ARK CSV Generator and Income Estimator, to aid in trading and income reporting.
- Delegate ‘Jarunik’ ran a general bounty service, get involved here.
- Delegate ‘Cryptology’ continued operating the ARKTippr tip bot.
- Delegate ‘Yakety_Yak’ released German ARK podcasts.
- Delegate ‘Rising_Sun’ continued to run a bounty and treasure loot program. Update here.
- Delegate ‘Deadlock’ continued maintaining ARKStats.Live.
- Delegate ‘Lemii’ continued maintaining ARKRelay.com.
- ‘CryptoMC’ continued to run Arkifier Delegate email alert service.
- Delegates ‘Arktoshi’ and ‘Echo’ continued maintaining ARKFaH.com, awarding ARK for users using processing power to fight COVID-19.
- Delegate ‘Cam’s Yellow Jacket’ brought back the Arklings Fantasy Football League with teaser here and announcement here.
- Delegate ‘Drakeler’ posted an infographic about what to do if you think you have lost your ARK. Step 1: Don’t Panic!
The Community Service Spotlight pulls entries from Reddit.ARK.io. To get something featured here, simply make a post there, and subscribe there for more community content and discussions.
NOTABLE REDDIT POSTS
The Ark Ecosystem Subreddit is a great place to seek ARK knowledge, and you can always find new and engaging content there. New to ARK? Check out my Welcome to ARK Reddit Post with simple instructions to follow.
Here are some notable posts this month:
- Technical questions about wallet balances here and here
- A discussion about the value proposition for ARK
- A question about when staking will end
- A question about whether a Delegate is still forging
- Questions about using the Ledger Nano S with ARK Wallet
- A discussion about DeFi as it relates to ARK
You can browse more content and contribute your own voice to the ARK Subreddit at Reddit.ARK.io. You may even receive an ARK tip from a community member using Delegate Cryptology’s intuitive ArkTippr Reddit tipbot.
AMAs
Ask-Me-Anythings are periodically conducted where ARK team members answer questions by community members and developers, as well as 3rd party organizations taking questions from the community as well.
- On August 10th, multiple members of the ARK Team participated in an AMA hosted by ChangeNOW, a simple swap service integrated with ARK. You can check an abridged transcript of the AMA here, and listen to AMA results on the podcast here. The AMA took place on their community Telegram channel here.
- On August 20th, multiple members of the ARK Team participated in an AMA hosted by ProBit, with support page link here. The AMA took place on their community Telegram channel here.
AMAs take place on Slack.ARK.io and external places. Follow ARK on Twitter for invitations to join future AMAs. AMA Transcripts are available on the ARK.io resource ARK Answers.
BOUNTY & SECURITY PROGRAM
Program Announcement
The ARK Bounty Program, which rewards open source contributors in ARK for servicing certain tasks on GitHub.ARK.io, is undergoing a restructuring. This is due to MarketSquare and its roadmap having a way for bounties to be published there. Thus, ARK.io will be using its own product, MarketSquare, to publish and manage bounties when that aspect of the platform goes live. MarketSquare is built for the whole crypto and Blockchain industry, so more developers will become exposed to ARK bounties. The Security Program is still in full effect and is operating normally, to contribute to the security of the network and stability of the current public codebase. Stay tuned for future announcements by following ARK on Twitter.
This month, we’d like to highlight ‘Alessio’ for reporting security vulnerabilities and receiving bounties:
To join the Security Bounty Program, consult this resource.
ARK GRANTS
ARK Grants Launched a 1 Million ARK Fund. ARK has always placed a large focus on our community of developers. From our Development and Security Bounties to our previous Tier Zero program, we have a wide range of opportunities for developers to get involved in the community and get paid to contribute to ARK. The ARK Grants program is an expansion and refinement of our current offerings, providing a war chest of funds to show our dedication to our community and the ARK Ecosystem.
Technologies and frameworks, applicable project types and proposal submission process can be found in the ARK Grants launch article here and there is a video here.
ARK COMMUNITY COMMITTEE
The ARK Community Committee creates and deploys community resources through anonymous and sponsored ARK donations.
Completed ACC projects include:
- ArkTimeline.com — All ARK’s achievements and accomplishments in one place. Searchable, filterable and linkable by the query string.
- ArkThoughts.com — Community opinions on 30 ARK concepts, including the Core, wallets, Explorer, SmartBridge Technology and media channels.
- Crypto Trivia Night Questions — Trivia questions for Crypto Trivia Night
During this recent month, I have discovered an additional use for the research conducted for the ACC’s current project, Project ‘VIDERE.’ I have been able to tie the work being done to a goal of MarketSquare content strategy, in addition to the other uses. During this next month, I will expand the project through Project ‘VIDERE IV’, meaning more opportunities to earn ARK by non-developers. Track activity on Discord.ARK.io #committee channel.
To join the ACC, locate me ‘(Justin (doubled1c3)’ on Discord.ARK.io.
ARK COMMUNITY FUND
The ACF is like the community version of ARK Grants and is not managed by ARK.io. If you have an idea for an ARK project, large or small and you are looking for funding, consider submitting a proposal to the ARK Community Fund for review. The ARK Community Fund started as a community initiative and the elected board reviews ideas and projects that enhance ARK. Their website is ArkCommunity.Fund.
If you missed their recent Summer update, you can read it here.
The ACF is running some giveaways on the #ark_community_fund channel of Slack.ARK.io. Join and check out the chatter in the channel.
WHAT’S NEXT
With this month’s first look at the all-new Deployer and further information about MarketSquare’s future released, it should (hopefully) be getting more clear what the main vision of the ARK Ecosystem is — a singular user experience across multiple products that empowers users and developers from all walks of life to harness Blockchain technology. Just as a car needs all its parts working together to move forward, so does the ARK Ecosystem.
With our new line of products and releases, developers will be able to quickly and easily create a new chain with Deployer, enhance it with decentralized logic using GTI, develop Plugins for it and publish them onto the ARK Desktop Wallet’s Plugin Manager, expose their new users to an intuitive wallet and UX right out of the box, auto-deploy a custom block explorer, and become discoverable for growth and grow industry connections using MarketSquare.
After Q4 product releases are pushed, what’s next? To become a true ecosystem, these new chains need a new and reliable method to communicate in a decentralized way. This is why our next focus will be putting full attention on consensus and P2P upgrades that allow for safe interchain swaps, and then fleshing out a swap market that enables new chains to be listed with ARK pairings upon deployment. Track our progress in achieving ecosystem nirvana by checking Roadmap.ARK.io and following us on Twitter.
FEEDBACK SURVEY
Take a short three-minute feedback survey so we can learn more about your opinions on how we’re doing. We review and track this feedback and use it to further improve our efforts.
GET INVOLVED
Here’s a quick list of what your first steps might be to get involved with ARK:
- Join our community on Slack or Reddit
- Launch an ARK community service
- Contribute code and earn ARK
- Apply for an ARK Grant to fund your idea
- Learn more with ARK documentation
- Launch an ARK node and campaign for forging status
- Create a blockchain in three simple steps
Looking forward to September! Stay safe!
