Ark is one of the newer altcoins, and like many of these, it was created to provide an answer to particular issues within the world of cryptocurrencies. In this way, it tried to set itself apart from established currencies such as Bitcoin or Ethereum.
One of the key issues of the cryptocurrency world is the sense that each currency operates in a completely separate universe; it has specialised wallets, transactions are being operated via a specialised blockchain, and so on. Because of this, users are compelled to choose one or several cryptocurrencies to focus on.
ARK and SmartBridge
Ark offers its own cryptocurrency, but also an environment designed to connect multiple blockchains and thus currencies and to create a wider market in which transactions between these currencies are less complicated to process. This also helps in making cryptocurrencies available to a wider range of people.
In order to do this, it uses a technology called SmartBridge, which can install a short snippet of code in any blockchain, which then in turn will detect any attempts by other blockchains to connect to this blockchain. In this way, transactions across different blockchains can be carried out and particular actions can be triggered from one blockchain to another.
Buying ARK
As with all cryptocurrencies, the first way to acquire some ARK is to purchase them via an exchange. For this, it is necessary to own a cryptocurrency wallet that is compatible with ARK.
Secondly, it is important to be registered with a cryptocurrency exchange, in order to acquire funds. As opposed to Bitcoin and many other altcoins, ARK cannot currently be purchased directly using traditional currencies such as USD or EUR; for this reason, users should first purchase Bitcoin, and then use this to pay for their ARK coin.
Forging ARK rewards
However, In March 2017, another method to gain ARK became operational: this is the process of forging ARK rewards, which is roughly similar to the concept of Bitcoin mining, but works in a different way and it’s not based on processing power. Instead, anyone who owns at least 1 ARK can cast a vote to elect 51 members to the Active Delegation, a group of peer-elected delegates who maintain the consensus of the ARK blockchain and who are eligible to forge rewards for their work.
Each block forged by such an active delegate will earn him 2 ARK (an amount not set to decrease over the years, as opposed to Bitcoin mining rewards), along with the transaction fees processed within the forged block. In this way, the processing power is being replaced by the trust from peers, and the network is being kept secure by active delegates that are earning revenue for themselves.