Just another day!

$14 trillion BlackRock will launch its new Bitcoin Premium Income ETF today.

What is Bark Protocol? Bark protocol promises to solve Bitcoin's scaling and UX problems. Lightning is powerful but managing channels and inbound liquidity stops most apps from ever shipping. Ark is a new Layer 2 protocol designed to fix that, and Bark is the a new open-source implementation doing it today. Built in Rust by the team at Second (@secondhq), Bark is a self-custodial Bitcoin payment library that supports Ark, Lightning, and on-chain, all from a single balance. No need to open channels or manage your channel liquidity. Bark powers fast, low-cost payments with full user ownership of keys. How It Works Ark uses a client-server model where users transact off-chain while retaining the ability to exit to the base chain at any time. Either cooperatively with the Ark server, or unilaterally without anyone's permission. The core primitive is a Virtual UTXO (VTXO): an off-chain output backed by a real on-chain Bitcoin transaction, redeemable on-chain at any time. Periodically — roughly every hour — the Ark Service Provider (ASP) runs a "round," batching multiple users' VTXO refreshes into a single on-chain transaction. The result: shared fees, predictable costs, and no per-user liquidity headaches. What Developers Get Bark ships as: A CLI wallet (bark) for testing and personal use A Rust library for direct integration into apps barkd — an Ark wallet daemon with a REST API, for automation, background services, and power users → second.tech/docs/barkd The aspd server for teams that want to run their own ASP It's Lightning-interoperable out of the box — you can pay Lightning invoices from an Ark wallet and receive Lightning payments directly into Bark. UniFFI bindings for mobile are in development. Where It Stands Today Bark is live and running on Bitcoin Mainnet. The protocol was originally proposed by developer Burak, and Second is one of two active implementations building independently, drawing talent including former Blockstream developers. Why It Matters for Lightning News Readers Lightning isn't going anywhere — but Ark fills a real gap: no-setup, self-custodial payments for users who will never run a node or understand channels. Bark makes those users first-class Bitcoin citizens without compromising on sovereignty. For developers building the next generation of Bitcoin apps, Bark deserves a close look. → Docs: second.tech/docs → Barkd: second.tech/docs/barkd → Code: gitlab.com/ark-bitcoin/bark

X (formerly Twitter)

Lightning News (@LightningNewsX) on X

What's Bark Protocol 🐶

Elon Musk net worth is $1,100,000,000,000 ($1.1 trillion) (17.5M BTC) after historic SpaceX IPO.

Over $770 BILLION has been added to Asian stock markets today as Trump says Iran war is over. South Korea's KOSPI is up +5%, adding ₩365 trillion ($250 billion) Japan's NIKKEI is up +3.00%, adding ¥42.9 trillion ($260 billion) Shanghai is up +1.33%, adding ¥1.2635 trillion ($176 billion) Hong Kong's HSI is up +1.7%, adding HK$680 billion ($87 billion).

Germany’s benchmark 10-year bond yield dropped to 2.985% in early trading, down 4 basis points.

💥BREAKING: 🇺🇸 President Trump says the US will attack Iran "very hard" soon.

Google will save your Lens photos, Search Live recordings, and Translate audio for AI training

The Verge

Google will save your Lens photos, Search Live recordings, and Translate audio for AI training

Double-check your privacy settings.

ETHEREUM #ETH OPEN INTEREST FALLS TO $23.3B, LOWEST LEVEL IN 4 MONTHS

Long-term holder supply in loss is now around 41%. That is extremely high for this stage of Bitcoin’s maturity. In 2015, the bottom needed over 50% of LTH supply in loss. In 2019, around 45%. In 2022, just over 42%. The threshold is falling as #Bitcoin matures.

X (formerly Twitter)

On-Chain Mind (@OnChainMind) on X

Long-term holder supply in loss is now around 41%. That is extremely high for this stage of Bitcoin’s maturity. In 2015, the bottom needed over...

US CPI came in at 4.2% Expectations: 4.2% The highest since April 2023.

🚨 $4 TRILLION GIANT APPLE NOW ACCEPTS #BITCOIN PAYMENTS IN APPS 🍏₿ A major step forward for Bitcoin adoption.

TRUMP: IRAN TAKEN TOO LONG, NOW THEY WILL HAVE TO PAY THE PRICE

CPI TEST: WILL INFLATION HEAT UP AGAIN? Today's U.S. CPI report is expected to show inflation rising to 4.2% in May from 3.8% in April, driven largely by higher energy costs linked to the Iran conflict. Investors are watching closely for clues on interest rates, with markets increasingly pricing in a possible Fed rate hike later this year. A hotter-than-expected reading could trigger a stronger market reaction than a downside surprise.

TRUMP SAYS US BLOCKADE CRIPPLES IRAN ECONOMY TRUMP CALLS NAVAL BLOCKADE MOST EFFECTIVE EVER TRUMP SEES IRAN UNABLE TO FUND MILITARY OPERATIONS TRUMP WARNS IRAN APPROACHING FAILED STATE STATUS

ISRAEL SAID TO PREPARING STRIKING IRAN AGAIN

SPOT #GOLD FELL TO $4,150/OZ, DOWN 2.62% ON THE DAY

🚨 #Microsoft just dropped patches for a record **206 vulnerabilities**. • 39 Critical bugs • 3 publicly disclosed zero-days • Multiple RCE flaws with CVSS 9.8 • Vulnerabilities in Windows Kernel, HTTP.sys, DHCP Client, and BitLocker The AI era isn't just accelerating software development. It's accelerating bug discovery too. Patch now. 🔥

Crypto Fear & Greed Index drops to 9, signaling Extreme Fear.

🚨 SoftBank reportedly tried to borrow $6B using its 13% OpenAI stake as collateral... to keep funding OpenAI. Banks said no. Translation: lenders aren't convinced OpenAI is worth its rumored $852B valuation. 👀💀