This week, an often overlooked Ethereum (ETH) competitor, Ark (ARK), experienced a remarkable surge of over 61% in its price, thanks to a series of exchanges launching perpetual futures contracts for its native token.

ARK: The Under-the-Radar Ethereum Competitor

Ark (ARK) is an open-source, TypeScript-based, layer-1 blockchain protocol designed with a focus on simplicity and efficiency. While it may not be as widely recognized as Ethereum, it has caught the attention of traders and investors recently.

Impressive Gains and Market Cap Ranking

The native token of the Ark project has seen substantial gains, currently trading at around $0.607, up from $0.375 just one week ago. This impressive price increase has pushed ARK to the 219th position by market capitalization. Furthermore, it has surged nearly 11% within the past 24 hours.

Futures Contracts Launch Drives Momentum

The significant gains made by the Ark project this week can be attributed to the introduction of ARK perpetual contracts on several notable exchanges. Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, launched its ARK/USDT perpetual contract on Tuesday, offering traders up to 10x leverage.

On the same day, Deepcoin, a crypto derivative trading platform based in Seychelles, also introduced an ARK/USDT perpetual contract.

Adding to the momentum, on Friday, KuCoin, another Seychelles-based crypto exchange, commenced offering an ARK/USDT-M perpetual contract with leverage of up to 20x.

Risks of Futures Trading

It's essential to note that futures trading is inherently risky, with the potential for substantial profits as well as significant losses. These contracts enable users to take positions that exceed their account balance, and perpetual contracts do not have set expiration dates.

ARK's Price History

Despite the impressive price gains witnessed this week, ARK is still down by a considerable margin compared to its all-time high of $10.22, which it reached back in January 2018. Currently trading at around $0.607, ARK has a long way to go before reaching its historical peak.

Ark's recent surge and increased interest from exchanges highlight the ongoing dynamism within the cryptocurrency market, where lesser-known projects can experience rapid price movements and attract the attention of traders and investors seeking opportunities beyond the more established cryptocurrencies like Ethereum and Bitcoin. However, market participants should exercise caution when engaging in futures trading due to its inherent risks.