ARK provides users, developers, and startups with innovative blockchain technologies.Accessible via push button clone-able blockchains, and our SmartBridge technology.ARK aims to create an entire ecosystem of linked chains and a virtual spiderweb of endless use-cases that make ARK highly flexible, adaptable, and scalable.ARK is a secure platform designed for mass adoption and will deliver the services that consumers want and developers need.FASTARK's Core is configured to produce ultra fast transactions with 8 second blocktimes.With easily implemented future scaling, higher throughput is available whenever ARK needs it.DECENTRALIZEDARK provides a more decentralized voting system than other DPoS consensus models.Voting weight is divided across all votes instead of assigning 100% weight to each vote, making it nearly impossible for a takeover of the entire network.BRIDGINGARK aims to bridge well known blockchain technologies through the use of SmartBridges, making an interconnected ecosystem of blockchains possible.

SUSTAINABLEThe ARKShield program provides an extra layer of protection to ARK.A professionally managed Sustainability and Contingency Fund or ARKShield, will provide stable funding throughout future development.WANT TO GET MORE DETAILS?ARK CREWA diverse group of talented individuals uniting to realize the vision shared by our 27 members - all passionately devoted to collaboration and the development of the Ark ecosystem.PHYSICAL CARD SYSTEMPhysical cards and transfer equipment(POS/NFC) accessible to people without traditional bank accounts.This also includes tools to manage off-chain transactions.BRIDGED BLOCKCHAINSArk will bridge other blockchains via a vendorfield known as the SmartBridge.This includes, but is not limited to: Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Lisk.Fast, secure, and stable.Utilizing delegated proof of stake and Practical Byzantine fault tolerance(PBFT) to secure the network.HYPERMEDIA PROTOCOL PLATFORMA peer-to-peer InterPlanetary File System(IPFS).IPFS integration will enable ARK to enter the future of media and hosting.

Allowing ARK to host large amounts of data without the blockchain bloat that plagues other chains.INTERPLANETARY-SCALE BLOCKCHAIN DATA BASEA peer-to-peer InterPlanetary DataBase (IPDB), will be integrated into ARK.*pending IPDB final release CONSTANT IMPROVEMENTSOur developers are working around the clock making improvements to our core.Keeping it fast, secure, and stable.OPTIONAL PRIVACYTo increase the reach of the ARK ecosystem we are aiming to implement optional private transactions.Which will most likely be implemented via our SmartBridge system.SELF-SUSTAINING We not only develop the tools developers want and need, but also provide the unique services consumers want, understand, and will use.“Our aim is to bridge virtual with reality” THE ARK CREW ARK Founding Members, Advisers, and Crew ARK SOCIALDownload ARK's white paper 'BITCOIN: A Disruptive Currency' Please fill out to download ARK's white paper Bitcoin could entirely change the way our world works.

In order to fully unfold its innovative force, bitcoin has to sufficiently meet the three main functions of money: means of exchange, store of value and unit of account.Just as cell phones made telephone poles unnecessary in developing countries, bitcoin may remove the need for most banks.ethereum nodeOne must remember: Money is no more than a useful shared illusion, an agreed upon version of reality, to grease the economic wheels of the world.bitcoin caiBitcoin simply rethinks the best way to be a currency in today’s digital world.bitcoin accepted here psdTo learn more about bitcoin as a currency download ARK Invest's white paper.setup bitcoin proxyARK offers thematic Innovation ETFs.my litecoin wallet

For more information click “EXPLORE ARK ETFs”.A new report argues that bitcoin should be considered the first in a new kind of asset class.The paper was produced by digital currency exchange and wallet startup Coinbase and ARK Invest, an investment management firm that specializes in disruptive technologies and offers financial products tied to bitcoin.bitcoin povertyThe white paper, written using data from Coinbase, TradeBlock, the S&P 500 Index and several additional industry benchmarks, outlines four approaches to characterizing assets before laying out the argument that traditional investors should view "cryptocurrency" as an entirely new asset class.ARK Invest analyst Chris Burniske, who co-authored the report, said that the project started as an exploration between the two companies of how people use gold to buy bitcoin."We realized this is a bigger story than comparing bitcoin and gold.This is about bitcoin and cryptocurrencies maturing into their own asset class."

The new report builds on a 1997 paper about asset class characterization, which breaks down assets into three categories: capital assets, consumable/ transformable assets, and store-of-value assets.Burniske and co-author Adam White, who serves as vice president for Coinbase, go on to define four distinct characteristics of traditional asset classes, positioning bitcoin both within and beyond those traditional definitions.The first characteristic of an asset class that the report outlines relates to what it calls “investability”.This, according to the report, pertains to whether an asset class provides sufficient liquidity and opportunity to invest.In the case of bitcoin, ARK Invest and Coinbase analyzed bitcoin exchange trading volumes from July 2011 through the first quarter of 2016 to determine the liquidity available to investors.Using data obtained from Bitcoinity and Tradeblock’s XBX Index, the paper shows steadily increasing volume, reaching as much as $1b per day through April of this year – though it acknowledges that this high figure is driven by self-reported figures not subject to third-party validation.

Next, the report defines a traditional currency relative to its “politico-economic features”.To be an asset, the report argues, the entity needs to have a unique profile that “arises” from its value, governance and use cases.In each case, the report draws distinctions between bitcoin and traditional asset classes.For example, bitcoin’s operational model, in which transactions are broadcast and verified on an open network, results in a predictable, "mathematically metered" release of the asset.By 2140, 21m bitcoins in the market will exist – by comparison, roughly 15.6m bitcoins have been created to date.According to figures provided in the paper, that’s distinct from both the US monetary base and gold supply, which increase at sporadic rates based on data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis and Number Sleuth’s "All the World’s Gold Facts"."Compared to bitcoin, no asset has evolved from concept to billions of dollars in stored value so quickly.Moreover, no asset in history has followed such a predictable supply trajectory."

The third trait used in the report to define traditional assets and help position cryptocurrencies as a new asset class relates to “price independence”, a characteristic that suggest how assets should exhibit a low correlation on returns relative to other assets in the marketplace.Put more simply, an asset needs to be sufficiently independent from the value of other existing assets.Using data sourced from Bloomberg and TradeBlock, ARK Invest and Coinbase compare bitcoin with the S&P 500, along with data on US bonds, gold, real estate, oil, and emerging market currencies.“Strikingly, bitcoin’s price movements have been separate and distinct from those of other asset classes during the last five years,” the report states.“It is the only asset that maintains consistently low correlations with every other asset.” Lastly, ARK Invest and Coinbase argue that the first three characteristics of traditional asset classes need to differentiate the risk-reward profile of the entity, leading to easily defined returns and a degree of volatility.

Using the Sharpe Ratio, which measures the returns on an investment per unit of risk, the authors of the report analyzed a five-year span from May 2011 through May 2016.With data sourced from the XBX Index, the report shows that, during the five-year period, the average daily volatility compared to the previous year decreased from about 10% to about 4%.Bitcoin’s daily volatility in May 2016 was roughly a third of that figure compared to five years ago, and 24% less than at the start of May 2015, according to the paper.The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is an independent media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies.Have breaking news or a story tip to send to our journalists?Contact us at [email protected]/* */.