After a year inside the Ark protocol, the rabbit hole got way deeper.

What started with basic Bitcoin payments and batching has evolved into something much bigger: a complete execution layer.

Today we're announcing the next chapter: Arkade

Our journey began implementing Ark's core primitives: VTXOs, presigned transaction trees, and batch settlements.

Months of production code revealed to us these weren't just payment optimizations, they were the building blocks for something far more ambitious.

That realization changed everything.

We're unveiling Arkade: a virtual execution layer that transforms these primitives into programmable money while preserving Ark's security guarantees.

This announcement is also an opportunity for us to share our implementation journey.

Everything we've built developing Arkade is now open source.

Follow our evolution through code, research, and real implementation work:

🔧 Arkade Compiler (experimental Ivy meets CashScript) h/t @danrobinson

Arkade Language lets you write Bitcoin-native smart contracts in a high-level syntax, compiling to Arkade Script for fast, secure, offchain execution.

github.com/arkade-os/compiler

📱 Arkade Mobile Wallet (PassKey auth, no app store required)

A progressive web app with modern authentication and VTXO management built-in.

Arkade in your pocket

This is how Bitcoin wallets should work in 2025.

github.com/arkade-os/wallet

⚙️ Custom Script Interpreter

Conceptual implementation showing how enhanced scripting fits natively in our existing Ark infrastructure.

Features 30+ new opcodes including OP_CAT, introspection, and arithmetics, all VTXOs compatible

github.com/arkade-os/arkd/pull/577

Developers can dive in immediately with SDKs for Rust, Go, and TypeScript, making Arkade accessible across the entire Bitcoin dev ecosystem.

Follow along as we build Bitcoin's virtualization layer and we gear up for mainnet launch.