Ark v0.4.0: New Address Encoding, Ark Notes, Market Hours
Ark is a layer-two protocol designed to scale Bitcoin transactions.
- "We're pleased to announce the release of Ark v0.4. This update brings new features and improvements continuing our ongoing efforts to refine and enhance the Ark ecosystem," announced the project.
What's new
- New Address Encoding. A significant update to the address encoding format now encodes the VTXO output script (Taproot key) and server public key, instead of user and server public keys. This allows users to generate custom addresses, offering new possibilities.
- The VTXO output script is only revealed upon spending, enabling off-chain receiving via Ark and facilitating innovative applications on Bitcoin with the Ark Protocol.
- Ark Notes allow users who are not online often, to represent and transfer off-chain balances. They can be sent digitally or printed, offering both a tangible and flexible transfer method. It works like this:
- Clients can share a Nostr public key (profile) for each of their VTXOs.
- When users go offline, the Server will print notes worth their unspent swept VTXOs.
- Users can restore their off-chain balances when they come back online in the future.
- Market Hours. Inspired by traditional markets, where buyers and sellers meet at scheduled times, Ark Market Hours aims to improve network efficiency and reduce costs.
- This release lays the groundwork for full implementation in a future release.
- Server Improvements:
- Connection of the internal Bitcoin wallet to bitcoind with ZMQ (#286).
- Support for restoration of the internal Bitcoin wallet (#332).
- Auto-unlock feature for the internal wallet (#347).
- Increased testing surface for improved reliability (#339).
- Consolidation of APIs, including renaming of RPCs and message fields for better consistency (#387).
Full Changelog: v0.3.0...v0.4.0
Upcoming updates for Ark include implementing Enhanced VTXO Tree Signing Scheme designed to unlock liquidity before shared output expiration.
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