I read a post from nostr:nprofile1qqstk884y5zrtl68tnvtx2kty037u7a73lpc7623wp950xz389rkwtqpzfmhxue69uhkummnw3ezua3sdshxjmcpr3mhxue69uhkummnw3ez6un9d3shjtnhd3m8xtnnwpskxega4epfs today that really caught my attention.

The last time I came across the ARK protocol was about 1–2 years ago — back then it felt like a real glimpse of hope.

I am not a big fan of the current lightning usability. For me custodial lightning is not a solution and non-custodial is technical to complicated.

Maybe nostr:nprofile1qqstk884y5zrtl68tnvtx2kty037u7a73lpc7623wp950xz389rkwtqpzfmhxue69uhkummnw3ezua3sdshxjmcpr3mhxue69uhkummnw3ez6un9d3shjtnhd3m8xtnnwpskxega4epfs can help me out with a few questions?

———————————————

ARK relies on “Ark Service Providers” (ASPs) to coordinate off-chain CoinJoin rounds every 5 seconds. ARK is non-custodial. ASPs never control the users’ actual Bitcoin – instead, users interact via “virtual UTXOs” (vTXOs), which can always be reclaimed on-chain by the user.

Even if an ASP goes offline or becomes malicious, the protocol is designed so users don’t lose funds — they just exit back to the main chain.

That raises key questions, if there is a bad actor :

1) how the protocol prevent users to loose sats? (How the vTXOs goes back to the user)

2) Is privacy really protected? (Incl. Metadata)

—————————————-

A try to simplify ARK in a few words:

What is ARK?

A new Bitcoin Layer 2 protocol with the simplicity of e-cash, the privacy of CoinJoin, and no custody risks. Unlike Lightning, there’s no need to open channels or lock up liquidity.

How it works:

Users receive off-chain “vTXOs” (valid for 4 weeks)

Ark Service Providers (ASPs) batch transactions every 5 sec via CoinJoin

Fast, cheap, private payments

Interoperable with Lightning via HTLCs

Pros:

No channels, no liquidity management

Better UX for casual users

Enhanced privacy

Runs on Bitcoin mainnet – no soft fork needed

Cons:

ASPs are central coordination points (non-custodial but not decentralized) - Trust

Reliant on regular CoinJoin rounds

Time-limited vTXOs can expire

Still early: Alpha stage, no production wallets yet

ARK is a promising complement to Lightning — not a competitor. Still early, but could become a major building block for scalable, user-friendly Bitcoin payments.

#Bitcoin #Layer2 #ARK #LightningNetwork #BTC