Cardano ADA
About
What Is Cardano (ADA)?
Cardano is a proof-of-stake blockchain platform that says its goal is to allow “changemakers, innovators and visionaries” to bring about positive global change.
To learn more about this project, check out our deep dive of Cardano.
The open-source project also aims to “redistribute power from unaccountable structures to the margins to individuals” — helping to create a society that is more secure, transparent and fair.
Cardano was founded back in 2017, and named after the 16th century Italian polymath Gerolamo Cardano. The native ADA token takes its name from the 19th century mathematician Ada Lovelace, widely regarded as the world’s first computer programmer. The ADA token is designed to ensure that owners can participate in the operation of the network. Because of this, those who hold the cryptocurrency have the right to vote on any proposed changes to the software.
The team behind the layered blockchain say that there have already been some compelling use cases for its technology, which aims to allow decentralized apps and smart contracts to be developed with modularity.
In August 2021, Charles Hoskinson announced the launch of the Alonzo hard fork, causing Cardano price to surge, gaining 116% in the following month. On Sept. 12, 2021, the Cardano ‘Alonzo’ hard fork officially launched, bringing smart contract functionality to the blockchain. Over 100 smart contracts were deployed in the following 24 hours after the launch.
Cardano is used by agricultural companies to track fresh produce from field to fork, while other products built on the platform allow educational credentials to be stored in a tamper-proof way, and retailers to clamp down on counterfeit goods.
Who Are the Founders of Cardano?
Cardano was founded by Charles Hoskinson, who was also one of the co-founders of the Ethereum network. He is the CEO of IOHK, the company that built Cardano’s blockchain.
In an interview for CoinMarketCap’s Crypto Titans series, Hoskinson said that he got involved in cryptocurrencies back in 2011 — and dabbled in mining and trading. He explained that his first professional involvement in the industry came in 2013, when he created a course about Bitcoin that ended up being taken by 80,000 students.
As well as being a technology entrepreneur, Hoskinson is also a mathematician. In 2020, his technology company donated ADA worth $500,000 to the University of Wyoming’s Blockchain Research and Development Lab.
What Makes Cardano Unique?
Cardano is one of the biggest blockchains to successfully use a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism, which is less energy intensive than the proof-of-work algorithm relied upon by Bitcoin. Although the much larger Ethereum is going to be upgrading to PoS, this transition is only going to take place gradually.
The project has taken pride in ensuring that all of the technology developed goes through a process of peer-reviewed research, meaning that bold ideas can be challenged before they are validated. According to the Cardano team, this academic rigor helps the blockchain to be durable and stable — increasing the chance that potential pitfalls can be anticipated in advance.
In 2020, Cardano held a Shelley upgrade that aimed to make its blockchain “50 to 100 times more decentralized” than other large blockchains. At the time, Hoskinson predicted that this would pave the way for hundreds of assets to run on its network.
The Alonzo hard fork launch in September 2021 will bring an end to the Shelley era, and usher in the Goguen phase. Users can develop and deploy smart contracts on Cardano, allowing native decentralized applications (DApps) to be built on blockchain. Cardano price broke the $3 mark and hit an all-time high of $3.101 on Sept. 2, 2021, ahead of the launch.
What Is Cardano’s Vasil Hard Fork?
Named after late Bulgarian mathematician Vasil Dabov, a prominent contributor to Cardano, the Vasil hard fork is touted as one of the most highly-anticipated upgrades for Cardano. The hard fork is the third development epoch of Cardano and is supposed to introduce several upgrades to the blockchain’s smart contract programming language Plutus and the network’s capacity.
The event was originally billed to happen in June 2022, but has been postponed a number of times.
Vasil will introduce five critical mechanisms to improve Cardano’s scalability and usability — CIP-31, CIP-32, CIP-33, CIP-40 and diffusion pipelining.
CIP-31, aka “reference inputs” will introduce a new kind of input that would allow developers to look at the result of an output without having to spend it. This would optimize transaction throughput and increase concurrency.
The CIP-32 proposal aims to enable inline datums. Rather than attach datum to datum hashes, which is the current state of things, CIP-32 would allow developers to attach datums to outputs. By implementing this update, devs can code scripts that directly point to the input, making room for simpler and quicker communication of datum values between users.
The Cardano Improvement Proposal 33 would allow reference scripts to be attached to outputs. As a result, the reference scripts are used to satisfy the validation requirements in place of the spending transaction. These reference scripts will make the validation process more efficient and reduce the size of transactions.
Meanwhile, CIP-40 features a brand-new type of output to transactions called collateral outputs, aimed at improving the overall scalability of the network.
Diffusing pipelining is Cardano’s consensus layer scaling solution. The improvement proposal will see more DApp deployment by overlaying some of the steps that a block needs to go through as it moves across the chain: this would allow for concurrent transactions.
How Many Cardano (ADA) Coins Are There in Circulation?
There is a maximum supply of 45 billion ADA — but at the time of writing, there was a circulating supply of about 31 billion. Five rounds of public sales of Cardano tokens were held between September 2015 and January 2017. Cardano price during its pre-launch sale was $0.0024, which represents an over 1000x return, given Cardano price now.
Approximately 2.5 billion ADA was allotted to IOHK once the network launched. Meanwhile, an additional 2.1 billion ADA was given to Emurgo, a global blockchain technology company that served as a founding entity of the Cardano protocol. Last but not least, 648 million ADA was given to the not-for-profit Cardano Foundation, which aims to promote the platform and increase levels of adoption.
Overall, about 16% of ADA’s total supply went to the project’s founders, with the remaining 84% being split among investors.
How Is the Cardano Network Secured?
Cardano is secured through an “environmentally sustainable, verifiably secure” PoS protocol that’s known as Ouroboros.
The project says that Ouroboros improves upon the security guarantees that are delivered by a PoW consensus mechanism while using substantially less power — claiming that it is four times more energy efficient than Bitcoin.
It is described as a blend of unique technology and mathematically verified mechanisms, with behavioral psychology and economic philosophy thrown in for good measure. Overall, the objective of Ouroboros is to achieve sustainable and ethical growth.
An incentive mechanism means that participants in the network are rewarded for their involvement.
What Is Cardano’s Alonzo Upgrade?
On Sept. 12, Cardano released its highly-anticipated Alonzo upgrade. Following the upgrade, the blockchain network can now support a wide range of crypto applications, including non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and smart contracts.
According to the project’s founder Charles Hoskinson, Alonzo aims to introduce “programmability” to the network. He likened the upgrade to when JavaScript was introduced to web browsers and the transition from static web pages to the likes of Facebook and YouTube.
Alonzo is named after American mathematician Alonzo Church, who is considered to be one of the founding fathers of computer science.
In addition to supporting NFTs and smart contracts, Cardano can now be used for decentralized exchanges.
In general, Alonzo puts Cardano in the same class as Ethereum, the world’s leading blockchain which supports other applications other than its native Ether token. Smart contracts, for instance, are one of the cornerstones of the decentralized finance sector — and Cardano now supports smart contracts.
In February 2022, the number of Cardano wallets broke the three million milestone. Since December 2020, it has surged by 1,200%, from 190,000 to over 3,000,000. This coincided with an increase in smart contracts following the Alonzo Upgrade, and Cardano surpassed the 1,000 smart contracts milestone on Jan. 27, 2022.
Another indicator of the ecosystem's explosive growth is developer activity: Cardano boasted the most developers contributing to its Github, beating out more developed blockchains like Solana. On average, more than 50 contributions are submitted to its repo per day.
However, the network is still struggling with implementing its smart contracts, and users had complaints about a sluggish launch of its SundaeSwap decentralized exchange in January 2022.
Where Can You Buy Cardano (ADA)?
As one of the biggest cryptocurrencies in the world in terms of market capitalization, you shouldn’t have much difficulty in finding a major exchange to buy Cardano on including Binance, Bittrex, eToro, and HitBTC.
If you’re struggling to find a trading pair that unites ADA with your local currency, check out this guide on how to convert fiat into Bitcoin — giving you a gateway to buying altcoins."
To check Cardano price live in the fiat currency of your choice, you can use CoinMarketCap’s converter feature directly on the Cardano currency page, or the dedicated exchange rate converter page. Popular Cardano price pairs include: ADA/USD, ADA/JPY, ADA/KRW, ADA/CNY, ADA/GBP and ADA/AUD.
AI Analysis
What is the Cardano (ADA) cryptocurrency good for? What are its main use cases?
Cardano (ADA) is a proof-of-stake blockchain platform that aims to provide a more secure, scalable, and sustainable alternative to traditional proof-of-work blockchains. The main use cases of Cardano (ADA) include:
- Decentralized Applications (dApps): Cardano's blockchain platform supports the development of decentralized applications, such as DeFi protocols, games, and social media platforms.
- Cross-Chain Interoperability: Cardano's protocol enables seamless interactions between different blockchain networks, allowing for the transfer of assets and data between chains.
- Digital Identity Verification: Cardano's platform provides a secure and decentralized identity verification system, which can be used for various applications, such as Know-Your-Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) compliance.
- Supply Chain Management: Cardano's blockchain can be used to track and verify the origin, movement, and ownership of goods, reducing counterfeiting and improving supply chain efficiency.
- Voting Systems: Cardano's platform can be used to create secure and transparent voting systems, allowing for the creation of auditable and tamper-proof voting records.
- Staking and Yield Farming: Cardano's proof-of-stake consensus algorithm allows users to stake their ADA tokens and earn rewards, as well as participate in yield farming and liquidity provision.
- Payment Systems: Cardano's blockchain can be used to create fast, secure, and low-cost payment systems, allowing for the transfer of value across borders.
- Governance and Voting: Cardano's platform provides a decentralized governance system, allowing holders of ADA tokens to participate in decision-making processes and vote on proposals.
- Decentralized Finance (DeFi): Cardano's platform supports the creation of DeFi applications, such as lending, borrowing, and trading platforms.
- Research and Development: Cardano's platform is designed to be a hub for research and development in the field of blockchain and cryptocurrency, with a focus on improving the security, scalability, and sustainability of blockchain technology.
Some of the key benefits of using Cardano (ADA) include:
- Energy Efficiency: Cardano's proof-of-stake algorithm is more energy-efficient than traditional proof-of-work algorithms.
- Scalability: Cardano's platform is designed to scale to meet the needs of a growing user base.
- Security: Cardano's platform uses advanced cryptography and a robust consensus algorithm to ensure the security of transactions and data.
- Decentralization: Cardano's platform is designed to be decentralized, allowing for the creation of a truly decentralized and community-driven ecosystem.
Overall, Cardano (ADA) is a versatile cryptocurrency with a wide range of potential use cases, and its platform is designed to provide a secure, scalable, and sustainable foundation for the development of decentralized applications and services.
What blockchain does Cardano use? Is it its own blockchain or built on top of another?
Cardano operates on its own blockchain, which is not built on top of another existing blockchain. It is an independent, decentralized, proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain designed to provide a secure and scalable platform for the development of decentralized applications (dApps), smart contracts, and financial services.
Key Features of Cardano's Blockchain:
- Ouroboros Consensus Mechanism – Cardano uses a unique PoS algorithm called Ouroboros, which ensures security, scalability, and sustainability.
- Two-Layer Architecture – The blockchain is divided into:
- Settlement Layer (CSL) – Handles ADA transactions (Cardano's native cryptocurrency).
- Computation Layer (CCL) – Executes smart contracts and dApps.
- Peer-Reviewed Development – Cardano is built on academic research and peer-reviewed cryptographic principles.
- Interoperability – Designed to work with other blockchains and legacy financial systems.
Comparison to Other Blockchains:
- Unlike Ethereum (which is a separate blockchain) or Solana (another independent blockchain), Cardano is not built on top of another blockchain.
- It competes with other smart contract platforms like Ethereum, Solana, and Polkadot but operates independently.
Would you like more details on Cardano's architecture or its differences from other blockchains?
Is Cardano programmable? Does it support smart contracts or decentralized applications?
Yes, Cardano is a programmable blockchain that supports smart contracts and decentralized applications (dApps). It was designed to be a flexible and scalable platform for a wide range of use cases, from simple transactions to complex decentralized applications.
Cardano has its own smart contract platform, called Plutus, which allows developers to write and deploy smart contracts on the blockchain. Plutus is based on the Haskell programming language and provides a functional programming model for building smart contracts.
In addition to Plutus, Cardano also supports the Marlowe programming language, which is a domain-specific language (DSL) for building financial smart contracts. Marlowe is designed to be easy to use and provides a high-level abstraction for building complex financial contracts.
Cardano's support for smart contracts and decentralized applications is enabled by its layered architecture, which includes:
- The Cardano Settlement Layer (CSL): This layer is responsible for processing transactions and maintaining the integrity of the blockchain.
- The Cardano Control Layer (CCL): This layer provides a platform for building and deploying smart contracts and decentralized applications.
- The Plutus Core: This is the core component of the Plutus platform, which provides the functionality for building and executing smart contracts.
Cardano's support for smart contracts and decentralized applications makes it an attractive platform for developers and entrepreneurs who want to build innovative applications on a secure, scalable, and decentralized platform.
Some of the key features of Cardano's smart contract platform include:
- Functional programming model: Plutus provides a functional programming model, which makes it easier to write and reason about smart contracts.
- Formal verification: Cardano's smart contract platform supports formal verification, which allows developers to prove the correctness of their smart contracts using mathematical techniques.
- Multi-asset support: Cardano's platform supports multiple assets, including native tokens and other cryptocurrencies.
- Scalability: Cardano's platform is designed to be highly scalable, with the ability to process a large number of transactions per second.
Overall, Cardano's programmability and support for smart contracts and decentralized applications make it a powerful platform for building innovative and scalable blockchain applications.
How fast are Cardano transactions? What is the typical confirmation time and throughput (transactions per second)?
Cardano's transaction speed and throughput depend on the network's current state, including network congestion, stake distribution, and the specific layer being used (Cardano Settlement Layer (CSL) or Cardano Computational Layer (CCL)). Here’s a breakdown:
1. Transaction Confirmation Time
- Typical Block Time: ~20 seconds (target block time).
- Finality: Transactions are considered finalized after ~20 minutes (5 blocks deep in the blockchain, as per Ouroboros consensus).
- Real-world observations: Most transactions confirm within 1-5 minutes under normal conditions.
2. Throughput (Transactions Per Second - TPS)
- Theoretical Maximum: ~1,000 TPS (with Hydra Layer 2 scaling solutions).
- Base Layer (CSL) Throughput: ~250-500 TPS (varies based on network load and stake distribution).
- Real-world throughput: Typically 50-200 TPS during peak usage.
3. Factors Affecting Speed
- Network Congestion: High demand (e.g., during NFT mints or token launches) can slow down confirmations.
- Stake Distribution: More decentralized stake leads to more consistent block production.
- Hydra Scaling: When fully implemented, Hydra could enable 1,000+ TPS per Hydra head.
Comparison to Other Blockchains
- Faster than Bitcoin (~7 TPS) and Ethereum (~15-30 TPS pre-merge, ~100+ TPS post-merge).
- Slower than Solana (~2,000-5,000 TPS) but more decentralized and energy-efficient.
Conclusion
Cardano offers fast (~20s block time) and secure (~20-minute finality) transactions with moderate base-layer throughput (250-500 TPS). For high-speed use cases, Hydra (Layer 2) will significantly boost performance in the future.
Would you like details on transaction fees or scalability solutions like Hydra?
How much data can I store on the Cardano blockchain? Does it support on-chain data storage?
The Cardano blockchain has limitations on the amount of data that can be stored on-chain. Cardano's founder, Charles Hoskinson, has emphasized the importance of keeping the blockchain lean and efficient, which means that it is not designed to store large amounts of data.
Currently, the Cardano blockchain supports storing small amounts of data, such as:
- Transaction data: Basic transaction information, like sender, recipient, and amount.
- Metadata: Small amounts of metadata, like transaction descriptions or hashes of external data.
- Script data: Data related to smart contracts, like script code and execution results.
However, Cardano does not support storing large amounts of data, such as:
- Files: Images, videos, documents, or other types of files.
- Large datasets: Big datasets, like sensor readings or social media posts.
If you need to store larger amounts of data, you'll need to use off-chain storage solutions, such as:
- InterPlanetary File System (IPFS): A decentralized storage network that allows you to store and share files.
- Oracle services: Third-party services that provide access to external data sources, which can be used to fetch and store data off-chain.
- Sidechains: Separate blockchains that can be used to store and process large amounts of data, which can then be synchronized with the main Cardano blockchain.
To store data on the Cardano blockchain, you can use various tools and protocols, such as:
- Cardano's Native Assets: A feature that allows you to create and manage custom assets, which can include metadata.
- Cardano's Plutus platform: A smart contract platform that enables you to build and execute scripts, which can include data storage and manipulation.
- Third-party libraries and frameworks: Tools like cardano-serialization-lib, cardano-wallet, and plutus-core, which provide APIs and utilities for working with the Cardano blockchain.
Keep in mind that storing data on the Cardano blockchain comes with costs, such as transaction fees and storage fees. It's essential to consider these costs and the limitations of on-chain storage when designing your application or use case.
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