Arké now has a (very rough) mobile app that is best friends forever with its desktop companion. Thanks to new @Second Bark FFI Swift bindings. Here's a shaky setup-and-link demo:
What do you think?
Christoph Ono
gbks@nosta.me
npub1kuc7...0eyw
Designer & developer. Helping improve bitcoin design with many others at https://bitcoin.design . I write a weekly update at https://gbks.substack.com . ✌️
Another Arké update? How will we pick servers during wallet setup? That, and fees, is what I am investigating here. Curious to hear any thoughts, as always.

Second Community
Arké MacOS prototype
Neil, I am so appreciative that you approach things that way. This week I realized that Bark supports BOLT-12 offers and Lightning Addresses out of...
This is an example with a rich BIP-21 URI (like what you might get from clicking a link at a checkout)). Instantly parsed and evaluated. Payment meta data is easy to see. Payment options (addresses) are matched against existing contacts, networks verified, balances checked, fees evaluated, and the best option highlighted. Just hit send and done. What do you make of that?


Latest Arké update about building a rich send experience that is simple and convenient no matter what you throw at it (known contacts, ark/bitcoin addresses, lightning invoices/offer/addresses, BIP-21, BIP-353, whatever...). A work-in-progress. What do you make of the direction?

Second Community
Arké MacOS prototype
Ideally Bark is so easy to work with that you can spend a lot more time working on changes unrelated to Ark/Bark! Looking great!
I recorded a hands-on 30-minute demo on how I use AI for coding for Arké (MacOS app, XCode). Curious to learn from others, if you have any tips.
Arké update 4, about native contacts, contact auto-assignment, a new console, and lots of little layout and convenience things. Still a major construction site, still progress.
I saw some people comment on the BIP-177 by default thing. Something I plan to get around to at some point and add options to choose from. Just not priority right now.
Second Community
Arké MacOS prototype
Thanks for the update. All good, I’m sure you’re all super busy. Here’s another update with the latest refinements: What’s...
Arké now also has a consolé. Very handy for doing some manual operations during development. Took 3 chats to build this with Claude in Xcode, mostly because I knew exactly what parts needed to be touched and also set up just a little bit of the skeleton to give Claude a more narrow scope. Such a breeze to build with.


Another update on Arké. Started to add tags, contacts and lightning functionality. It's a mess, but it's progress. 
Second Community
Arké MacOS prototype
Hello again with another update. I spent the last few days with the basic integration of tags and contacts and better address handling all around, ...
As I've been working on the Ark prototype, I tried to feel out the economic viability of the system, which can be a make or break. One part of is that every ASP is its own separate microcosm. That seems manageable for bitcoin payments, but adds exponential complexity for the advanced stuff in Arkade (lending, swaps, etc). And it seems like a centralizing force that will put intense pressure on ASPs and also invite regulatory scrutiny.
- Stablecoins are locked into individual ASPs - how many of those will Tether/etc support?
- Will ASPs need to provide liquidity for non-bitcoin assets also?
- What if a liquidation cascade depletes ASP liquidity? What if rounds are too slow?
- Is there unilateral exit for non-bitcoin assets?
- If your app only implements the payments part, are you still exposed to the other dynamics?
Do I have an answer, or understand the complexities of all this? Certainly not. If you do, congrats, please share. Intuitively, I prefer simpler systems. How do you think about these things?
A bit more work on Arké, adding wallet creation/import/deletion/backup.
In my Ark prototype, I added this super handy X-Ray screen. Let's you inspect all the underlying data that drives the wallet. Looks like I need to refresh my VTXOs...


I tinkered with an Ark wallet prototype (second.tech implementation) to get a feel for the squishy parts of the protocol. Here's a demo video and some questions that came up. Maybe some of you have answers? 

Second Community
Arké MacOS prototype
Hi all. Big shout-out to the second.tech team for the great work on Ark. I put together a MacOS prototype wallet app because I wanted to feel out h...
Big thing I appreciate about AI assisted coding is that you can keep your brain focused on the architectural level. It really takes care of the small stuff.
So cool to see the Saving Satoshi workshops happen. 
Past Workshops | Saving Satoshi In-Person Workshop Guide
Any preference for AI icons?
(Just having fun, these will not go into the icon set)
(Just having fun, these will not go into the icon set)Pretty amazing what you can do in a day with €0.5 worth of Claude Sonnet 4 credits via Github Copilot in Visual Studio Code.
Man do I wish that these workflows were also available for design tasks.
Two more icons from these explorations.


Which variations do you prefer? Other ideas to try?


I'll be on an X space next week to talk about Open Design. Tune in. 

X (formerly Twitter)
CHAOSS Project Africa (@chaoss_africa) on X
Explore how design shapes open source with us!
Join our Design Focus Group alongside @iamkingsleey, @VictoryBrown_, @EriolDoesDesign and @GBKS for...
First draft of the new milestone for Bitcoin Icons. What do you think of these? As always with icons, some are more intuitive than others. Also just realizing I need to add one for faucet.

