my next question is that if ARDR is deposited in to our existing addresses is it added as NXT and we now need to convert this back in to ARDR or does it get added in to a ARDR on the exchanges, I confirmed with my exchange that they do support the current snapshots or they have advised they have been doing it.
Just wondering how that works.
A little summary of the whole process, please correct me if I mess anything up:
ARDR was already issued as an Asset Exchange asset by the Nxt developers -
https://www.mynxt.info/asset/12422608354438203866So after Nxt block 1,000,000 the initial distribution of this asset will happen, and every Nxt account that has been captured in snapshots will receive the amount of ARDR assets it earned.
ARDR will then be tradable in the Nxt AE and in any exchanges that want to add it. There's already been many AE assets in major third party exchanges, so integration will be simple. Then, while main Ardor development is finished and Ardor testnet comes live, ARDR distribution continues in the markets.
And when Ardor mainnet launches next year, there will be two last processes starting in Nxt blockchain:
1) A one-time snapshot of ARDR AE asset distribution is made, and that distribution is included in Ardor main chain genesis. I don't know yet the technical details for that distribution, but I assume assets will be automatically burned after the snapshot, and the Ardor accounts in genesis will be generated using the existing keys in Nxt blockchain. Developers will elaborate on that down the road.
2) A one-time snapshot of NXT distribution happens in Nxt blockchain, and Ardor genesis accounts will also receive tokens for the first child chain in Ardor (name still to be determined), based on the amount of NXT they hold at that moment. There will be a conversion rate for this, still open (it depends on whether other funding sources for development turn up) since a part of of these first chain tokens will be reserved to fund development, infrastructure and others.
This second point is important, because people might decide they're waiting until the current ARDR snapshots are finished and then selling their NXT, and besides whatever roadmap Nxt 1.0 may have after the snapshots, then they also miss a stake in the first Ardor child chain.
This first child chain is in principle the only "hard-coded" child blockchain in Ardor, and it will feature at least the current whole set of tools in Nxt, which will be also accessible for any blockchains created by users on top of Ardor. The essential difference with the Ardor main chain is that the main chain is taking care of securing and fueling the whole Ardor ecosystem, all the created blockchains including the first, using ARDR - but does not run other features inherited from Nxt (like the Marketplace, the Voting system, the Monetary System, etc). To use all the Nxt features in Ardor you'll need to use a child chain, either the first hard-coded one or any blockchain created by users.