ARK Contract Execution Services is the first working use-case of ARK’s SmartBridge technology. ACES initial release makes for another world first for ARK, by bridging two separate blockchains together and achieving true interoperability between ecosystems.

ARK ACES on Github : https://github.com/ark-aces

ARK’s SmartBridge Tech allows interoperability between blockchains using what’s called a ‘Vendor Field’ or ‘SmartBridge Field’, embedded in the core code. Other chains can opt to embed this vendor field code in their own chains for direct connectivity with the ARK Ecosystem. ARK can also achieve interoperability without other blockchains embedding the vendor field code using what is known as an Encoded Listener Node.

Encoded Listeners act as a hub, listening to the SmartBridge vendor field and waiting for data or functions to be executed. ACES itself is an Encoded Listener Node, using ARK’s SmartBridge to communicate between ARK and Ethereum.

For an overview of SmartBridge and its abilities you can read: What is SmartBridge?

What is ACES and what can it do?

ACES allows users to transfer ARK directly to Ethereum without using an exchange, making it decentralized. It automatically calculates any fees and handles all conversions, and even returns excessive ARK spent if all is not used or the transaction doesn’t go through on the Ethereum network.

The next step for ACES is to allow ETH to ARK transfers as well, which is currently on the ACES roadmap. There is also a plan to make a marketplace for running ACES Encoded Listeners. Making it even more decentralized and giving users more options, depending on their needs.

But ACES is not stopping there. The ACES team is planning on adding many more coins to this service, including Bitcoin. Follow the ACES roadmap here: https://github.com/ark-aces/aces-roadmap

ACES Ethereum Contracts.

ACES doesn't just create decentralized marketplaces for token transfers. ACES also allows users and developers to write and execute smart contracts on Ethereum via ARK. Using ACES to write Smart Contracts on Ethereum is a breakthrough in blockchain technology. It shows the true power of ARK’s SmartBridge technology. This service does require a more advanced understanding of Ethereum Contracts and the Ethereum Solidity language.

ACES Nodes.

Running an ACES Encoded Listener can add to the ecosystem by providing an alternative node to the network, creating more options for users and decentralizing services. This requires some advanced developer knowledge and holding of ETH in your node for transfers, but following the guides at https://aces-ark.io/ can be very helpful. You can choose to be a public or private ACES node. Public ACES nodes will be listed in the upcoming marketplaces where users can see node performance stats, fees, reviews, and offering services for each ACES node.

We also encourage you to see this great video produced by one of the ARK’s delegates for a quick guide through the features ACES currently offers:

What is ACES?

Full walk through guides are available at https://aces-ark.io/

ARK is an open-sourced and transparency focused blockchain and ACES follows in the same footsteps by being completely open-sourced for anyone to review and contribute.

ACES was developed by a team of ARK community developers, and can be contacted right on their GitHub, or in the #aces channel in the official ARK Slack chat.