ARK: A SECOND-LAYER SOLUTION DESIGNED TO SCALE BITCOIN TRANSACTIONS

Summary from the TLDR Crypto newsletter

Ark is an L2 solution for Bitcoin that aims to address Bitcoin’s speed and cost issues. It facilitates off-chain payments using a shared UTXO model to ensure user data confidentiality. Transactions in the ecosystem are made with 'digital checks', which can be obtained by depositing Bitcoin into the L2. Digital checks have an expiry date. In case of inactivity or server failure, users can reclaim their Bitcoin through automated procedures.