The team behind the ARK Blockchain Ecosystem has hit another major milestone, marking the first Delegated-Proof-of-Stake (DPoS) token to be integrated into a cryptocurrency hardware wallet. This addition of the ARK token to Ledger hardware wallets is one of many accomplishments, and is a major step toward solidifying the ARK Ecosystem as a leader in the space.
Hardware wallets are an additional level of security for cryptocurrencies, like bitcoin. These physical devices can store your cryptocurrency offline and securely.
First announced back in July, now that the Ledger Nano S is finally directly compatible with the ARK desktop wallet, users no longer need to enter their 12 to 24 word passphrases.
Instead, they can use their Ledger hardware wallets as a means of authentication for casting votes or signing transactions, all without the need to re-enter a passphrase, making ARK more streamlined and easier to use.
In addition to being able to secure the ARK token within the Ledger hardware wallet, users can also utilize the Ledger Nano S to cast votes within the ARK DPoS governance system.
Unlike Bitcoin, in ARK’s DPoS hybrid blockchain, it isn’t the largest mining power that determines who creates blocks and validates transactions, but instead, it is the token holders who cast votes for which node operators should be responsible for securing the blockchain.
In addition to the Ledger partnership, ARK recently unveiled several key pieces of their roadmap for their complete ecosystem including:
- ArkVM (ARK Virtual Machine) – allows users to automatically create transactions or perform specific actions on the ARK blockchain. Also known as smart contracts, ArkVM will provide Solidity developers with a new sandboxed environment within the ARK ecosystem, and facilitate communications between the two bridged chains, with ARK to Ethereum as our first example.
- ARK’s SmartBridge Technology – way of connecting and communicating with other blockchains. In a recent interview, Mike Doty ARK’s Managing Director said, “One major future use-case of SmartBridge and interconnected blockchains will be the ability for a decentralized exchange in a trustless environment.” SmartBridge, paired together with ARK’s specially developed Encoded Listening Nodes, allows ARK to connect and interoperate with any blockchain. This creates an interconnected ecosystem of compatible blockchains with the ability to transfer data or tokens back and forth to each other.
- ARK Contract Execution Services, or ACES – is a community sponsored and developed project utilizing the ARK SmartBridge to provide users with the ability to connect to the Ethereum Blockchain via an ARK created technology known as “Encoded Listeners”. ACES will allow users to execute smart contracts on the Ethereum Blockchain utilizing ARK as a payment source while automatically calculating relevant fees.
