Ark (ARK)
Ark is a blockchain based platform project. Ark, which began as a fork of Lisk, is interesting because of the high rate of development and some of the goals which the developers are currently working towards. Ark is intended to be able to be used as a "bridge" between different blockchain projects. Think of it as being able to convert currencies, for one very simple example. For instance, if a store accepts Monero, and you only have Iota, then in theory Ark will eventually be able to be used as a bridge so you can pay in Iota and the store will receive Monero. Ark is also working on a consumer-friendly "push-button blockchain creation" capability, so if a company needed to create their own in-house private blockchain for corporate purposes, they could very quickly and easily create their own blockchain by using some of the Ark framework capabilities, without first needing to invest major time and money into creating a blockchain system from scratch.
Mining/Staking
Ark uses a Delegated Proof of Stake (DPOS) consensus mechanism. Any holders of Ark may "vote" for a specific delegate to represent them in terms of governance. Since delegates (51 in total) get paid for their participation in securing the network, there is strong competition to respond to the needs of voters and to distribute competitive staking rewards, in order to maintain their position in the top 51.
Development Team
Ark's development team includes a mid-sized group which is almost entirely composed of heavy-hitters for coding and development work. There is a diverse amount of talent, with depth. Many of the developers are also frequent contributors to blog posts on Medium, and participate regularly in conversations on Discord, Reddit, and other community groups.
Criticisms, Caveats, and Competitors
Ark has not put any emphasis on marketing while they are rewriting their entire project from the ground up, which has caused this platform to fall off the radar of most crypto investors. Also, there seems to be some confusion about the differences (pros/cons) between this project and Lisk, as the two projects shared common roots. After the current code rewrite, which will turn Ark into an entirely new codebase in the first half of 2018, strong efforts will have to be made to educate industry participants that Ark will then have a completely functional and working platform. The current fee structure also attracts its fair share of criticism, which will probably continue until the new fee system in place at some point in 2018.
Additional Resources
The project's main website: https://ark.io
Link to Wikipedia Page: N/A
Link to Reddit Community: https://www.reddit.com/r/ArkEcosystem
Link to Twitter account: https://twitter.com/arkecosystem
Link to Team information: https://ark.io/team
Link to data on Live Coin Watch: https://www.livecoinwatch.com/coins/ARK
Whitepaper: https://ark.io/Whitepaper.pdf
More Articles & Links relating to Ark:
A Beginner's Guide to Ark
https://blockonomi.com/ark-guide
Introduction to the Ark Ecosystem
https://usethebitcoin.com/introduction-ark-ecosystem
What is Ark?
http://www.investinblockchain.com/what-is-ark
Delegate Information
https://medium.com/@jarunik/ark-delegate-report-january-2018-b2d9d03e8807