What is ARK?
ARK is a blockchain-based development platform that enables anyone to create their own fully customizable and interoperable blockchain. It aims to reduce the industry's reliance on smart contracts by using custom transactions, logic, and multiple programming languages. ARK was founded in mid-2016 and raised $800,000 in a Token Exchange Campaign (TEC) later that year. The ARK Public Network went live on March 21, 2017, hosting the native ARK crypto asset, and the ARK business entity, ARK ECOSYSTEM SCIC, was formed shortly after.
What is ARK Trying to Solve?
ARK aims to simplify working with blockchain technology and developing solutions that cater to various use cases. The ARK Core Framework is designed to provide developers with easier access to blockchain technology. The framework consists of the ARK Core, handling peer-to-peer operations, ledger database management, API access, custom business logic, and more. The Generic Transaction Interface (GTI) within the ARK Core Framework allows developers to create custom transaction types that run on a customized blockchain and fulfill their desired use case, all using the TypeScript programming language.
How Do You Mine or Stake ARK?
ARK cannot be mined; it is forged by elected delegates that run the network using a custom-designed delegated proof-of-stake (DPoS) blockchain with 51 forging delegate slots and eight-second block times. Each forged block generates 2 ARK, which is sent to the validating/forging delegate as a reward. Delegates are elected by ARK token holders with a voting power of 1 ARK = 1 Vote.
To become a forging delegate, users can run instances of the ARK Core and campaign for forging status by gathering vote weight from token holders. Users can execute a special vote transaction using the ARK Desktop or ARK Mobile wallets to assign vote weight to a delegate. The staking rewards system is managed by the delegates themselves, with each delegate's reward system being unique. The ARK team does not run the ARK public network.
