So I was trawling on Reddit /ethtrader and got caught up in some comments about how ARK coin ark.io was about to blow up. I started watching the price chart and all I could see was the price increasing. Naturally, I got FOMO'd into buying a whole bunch of ARK at $1.22 USD... I ended up spending 40 Monero (XMR) at the time, around $2200 USD worth. The price has since dipped back below $1 and is sitting at around $1.10... Nice work!
I thought it was going to jump like Stratis did recently and to be honest, the underlying tech is pretty good and I like their smart bridge technology. Developed from Lisk, Crypti, and BitShares with unique differences and improvements, ARK runs on a Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) consensus algorithm that allows users to delegate their staking power through new improved voting mechanisms to pre-selected delegates.The ARK Platform relies on smartbridges to extend the reach of its operations to other blockchains. Not to be confused with side chains, these allow blockchains to be connected by sending and receiving trigger function notices and informational data through the primary ARK network via custom developed SmartBridges and Encoded Listeners . This allows ARK to have functionalities that are absent on its blockchain, by communicating with other blockchains via custom transactions.
ARK will Add more features and tools along the way as can be seen in the roadmap below:
There genuinely seems to be a plan and a roadmap, with some useful features to use ARK in the real world with their planned physical card. Bridging block chains is definitely the future and they also plan to integrate file sharing with A peer-to-peer InterPlanetary File System (IPFS).
Like NEM, you can also delegate your Proof of Stake by voting for a pool and then turning your wallet app off whilst it earns you "interest" in the background.
In the end, I'm ok with the purchase I've made. I would say that the lesson is to not peruse through ethtrader on reddit as you will get FOMOd as people hype a coin. If you follow their advice, you'll end up buying at peaks as opposed to troughs.