Recent market events have inclined me towards securing the last bits of my crypto-portfolio that remain outside cold storage. As always, you should never leave more funds in an exchange (or any hot wallet) than you are willing to lose in the event of a potential hack. You can never foresee all possible contingencies, so assume that even two-factor-authenticated hot-wallets (anything permanently connected to the internet) are potentially insecure.

<center>![Ark 0.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmVaaCJNYrJe1YzPXHYT3jR7gAzGpfB1DAmRvkRSiUbQ4N/Ark%200.jpg)</center>

Anyway, I've had my eye out for coins that hit the trifecta for medium-term or longer holding. For me, those are:

1. Is a fundamentally promising project.
2. Can be easily kept in cold storage / hardware wallet (essentially un-hackable)
3. Can stake for a return while cold-storage secured.

Ark is one of the few projects I've come across that tick all boxes...and yes, for the sake of full disclosure, I do own some Ark.

I won't delve too deeply into the fundamentals here, but Ark is essentially a blockchain designed to help link other blockchains together to manage trading and transfers between different currencies. It has an 8 second block time and both transfers and confirms transactions very quickly. It's website and desktop wallets are all very professional. Ark is a Delegated-Proof-of-Stake coin, similar to Steem, which rewards you for staking with an annual yield around 7% currently (slightly higher if you choose your delegate well).

Now, a quick glance at a price chart for technicals:

<center>![Ark 2.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmQ9qZCsPsb9US8JcJm9JNUCtU3ZgMHa3NemTnkmYrnKRN/Ark%202.png)</center>

<center>*Prices in both denominators hover near major long-term support levels.*</center>

As we can see,  Ark is about 60% of it's all-time high in both US $ and Bitcoin. The drop in the US $ price line below the Bitcoin price line is not on any substantial Ark news, and it's reasonable to assume a baseline scenario in which the US $ price line crosses back above the Bitcoin one. Regardless of which asset you price it in, there was a healthy and complete correction to $2.50 in USD and .00050000 in Bitcoin.

<center>![Ark 3.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmRLGTQTf8vhUknh8p6bEwehtALr6nZU4Kx574GRSd7oPn/Ark%203.jpg)</center>

Ark has a rather sophisticated wallet that supports locking your coins via a Ledger Nano S, which should make staked coins in your Ark wallet nigh un-hackable. The wallet even auto-hides itself from your print-screen key, so you don't inadvertently send sensitive info in an unrelated screenshot.

Ark stakes via a delegate system, not too unlike Steem. The top 100 delegates all "forge" blocks based on the total weight of those who vote for them as delegates, then split that amount with their voters less a small fee for services. All delegates are tracked by Ark's own block explorer at https://explorer.ark.io/delegate-monitor

<center>![Ark 4.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmUiLUfmLzwU8hUFztF4u73d1WDskF9SayrBB8TCkroddB/Ark%204.png)</center>

I've done the work and picked out a delegate for you (no affiliation). Biz_classic has numerous advantages for staking:

1. High pool loyalty, has never dropped out of top 100 so you never need to change your vote. This is useful, as voting costs 1 Ark.
2. Biz_classic refunds your voting and transfer fees, ALL transfers (if you set your account up properly), for life.
3. Very high payout percent to voters, one of the highest.
4. Biz_classic runs a fair faucet, if you are inclined, and gives bonuses to voters on rolls.
5. Cool website for tracking rewards
6. Discord for support.
7. Compound your un-redeemed staking rewards, so you don't lose compound interest, and lets you set your withdrawal schedule to minimize fees.

<center>![Ark 5.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmNYVnrCDGjyYA1iFP7v3QpNcJCT5eWk9AN34hNWrNKuFV/Ark%205.png)</center>

<center>*A mildly redacted shot of the BizClassic delegate-vote-tracking interface. Snazzy.*</center>

It really doesn't get any better than that list, so if you decide to stake, check out Biz Classic here:

https://forum.ark.io/topic/352/biz_classic-up-to-99-payout-free-voting-free-transactions-3x-free-ark-faucet-bonus-the-only-whale-proof-pool-and-custom-payouts


<center>[*Try SteemFollower today and get rewarded for every vote!*](https://steemfollower.com/?r=5490) </center><center>[See my explanation of SteemFollower here.](https://steemit.com/steem/@lexiconical/steemfollower-the-upvote-and-follower-exchange-that-isn-t-vote-4-vote-but-is-quite-effective)</center>

<center>![PAL Logo.gif](https://steemitimages.com/DQmRSmRyg4MdRdiKsWTMbfyiAG673K1yP65MoUTbCXGp9Xi/PAL%20Logo.gif)</center>

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<center>*[Almost 80% of Steemians do not vote for witnesses, who secure the Steem blockchain! If you wish to make me your witness voting proxy, I will attempt to vote in Steem's best interest based on the information in my witness reports. You may set me as your proxy by clicking here and scrolling to the bottom of the Witness Voting page. Proxies are instantly revokable at any time, and witness voting does not use your voting power.](https://steemit.com/~witnesses)*</center>

<center>[![Proxy.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmV7EukwPiajCok1zWTGUTY4oiWy5zFGTYhLqHrBuJAcUf/Proxy.png)](https://steemit.com/~witnesses)</center>

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*Sources: BuyingArk.com, Forum.Ark.io*
*Copyright: Ark.io, CoinTelegraph*