Ark Labs has launched the public beta of Arkade, a new native Layer 2 solution for Bitcoin, marking a significant development since the Lightning Network. Backed by investors such as Draper Associates, Axiom, and Fulgur Ventures, Arkade is built on the Ark protocol specification proposed in 2023. It virtualizes Bitcoin's transaction layer using virtual transaction outputs (VTXOs), which are off-chain representations of Bitcoin's unspent transaction outputs (UTXOs). This solution operates within Bitcoin's existing security framework without altering its consensus rules. The public beta launch of Arkade is the first mainnet implementation of this vision, with plans for further enhancements, including scripting tools and advanced financial applications. Additionally, Ark Labs introduced Arkade Assets, a framework that extends Arkade's virtualization model to support various asset types, including stablecoins and other tokens.