Second’s Bark Boasts New era of Bitcoin Payments, drawing in former Blockstream developers

Bitcoin Magazine Second’s Bark Boasts New era of Bitcoin Payments, drawing in former Blockstream developers Second, the Bitcoin development lab founded by ex-Blockstream executives including CEO Steven Roose and CTO Erik De Smedt, has unveiled Bark — its custom Ark protocol implementation promising self-custodial payments that are faster and cheaper than Lightning channels. This post Second’s Bark Boasts New era of Bitcoin Payments, drawing in former Blockstream developers first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Juan Galt .

7 April 2026 at 10:35 am

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Second’s Bark Boasts New era of Bitcoin Payments, drawing in former Blockstream developers

Second, a new Bitcoin development lab founded by ex-Blockstream executives, has recently unveiled Bark, its custom Ark protocol implementation, promising self-custodial payments that are faster and cheaper than Lightning channels. This development has drawn attention from the cryptocurrency community, particularly as the company continues to attract former Blockstream employees, including Grubles, who has over 8 years of engineering experience at the company.

Grubles announced their departure from Blockstream on March 3, 2026, marking the end of an 8+ year tenure. In a tweet, Grubles expressed gratitude for the opportunity to work with a world-class team on both the marketing and engineering sides. Despite leaving Blockstream, Grubles expressed excitement about their new role at Second, where they will contribute to the development of Bark, the lab's lead product.

Second's team is composed of several former Blockstream executives, including Neil Woodfine (CMO), Steven Roose (CEO), and Erik De Smedt (CTO). The lab is currently focused on the cutting-edge of end-user Bitcoin wallet technology, with a particular emphasis on the Ark protocol, a layer two payments protocol that offers scalable self-custody and payments features at a low cost.

Bark, Second's custom implementation of the Ark protocol, is designed for interoperability with the Lightning Network. Grubles explained that while the technique used for Bark is different from payment channels in Lightning, the two are actually very complementary. The company's goal is to build an Ark that is focused entirely on making Bitcoin onboarding and payments excellent.

Second's website describes an Ark-to-Lightning bridge that allows users to pay Lightning invoices directly from an Ark balance without requiring channels, liquidity, or LSPs. The process is handled atomically, ensuring a seamless and secure transaction experience.

Grubles also revealed that the company has raised 5.1 million from a private investor, with a team of 11 people working on the development of Bark. The project's deep technical documentation is available, providing insights into the innovative approach Second is taking to enhance Bitcoin's payment capabilities.

As Second continues to attract talent from Blockstream and focuses on the Ark protocol, the cryptocurrency community is watching closely to see how this new development lab will impact the future of Bitcoin payments. With a team of experienced professionals and a commitment to delivering fast, low-fee, and self-custodial wallet solutions, Second's Bark has the potential to reshape the landscape of Bitcoin transactions and onboarding.

Source: Bitcoin Magazine

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