What is Cardano? Introduction to ADA

In the recent spurt of cryptocurrencies and their increasing values, a number of unique concepts have come up. While there are a host of applications for blockchain technology and cryptocurrency based transactions, some of them stand out, due to various reasons.

Cardano is one such project that began in 2015, written in Haskell and Plutus functional programming languages. Cardano aims to transform the way cryptocurrencies are developed. It is a research-based cryptocurrency project that aims to create a smart contract platform with more advanced features and better efficiency. In this article, we will talk about Cardano, and its official cryptocurrency Ada, along with everything you need to know about what makes it one of the most popular and most talked about cryptocurrencies around.

What is it for?

Cardano aims to ease digital transactions in a secure yet regulation friendly manner. The platform consists of two layers. The Cardano Settlement layer (CSL), and the control layer, which is still up for development. The control layer will eventually be used for smart contracts. The CSL is responsible for all the transactions that occur using the platform’s official cryptocurrency, ADA.

Cardano is more than just a cryptocurrency and has future plans to integrate with the financial industry. It aims to be the first of its kind technological platform capable of running transactions of all kinds, be it for large businesses or small everyday transactions of individuals. The platform has gained such a headstart over other new cryptocurrencies because of its unique features and plans that have been brainstormed by the impressive team of researchers led by Charles Hoskinson, the founder and the CEO of Cardano.

Scalability and Value

Cardano has been created with the aim of solving Scalability problems that currently plague the cryptocurrency industry. Scalability issues that deal with Transactions per seconds (TPS), Network bandwidth and Data storage. With the ambitious goals to solve these critical issues, Cardano aka ADA has attracted many investors translating to a trend similar to that of bitcoins over the past one year. Its value is expected to show a similar upward trend in the future, with consumers relying on its easy to use, and easy to update software upgrades. The company has a good set of investors backing it, with the Input Output Hongkong (IOHK) technology engineering company working behind most of its technology currently in use. Moreover, the platform has a Japanese registered company called Emergo specifically established to help businesses integrate their transactions with Cardano’s blockchain platform. Keeping in mind the efficiency and speed of the network, unique concept and good backing, the future looks bright for the digital platform and its cryptocurrency.

The total Circulating Supply of Cardano is 31,112,484,646 ADA with Max Supply at 45,000,000,000 ADA (45 Billion ADA). Cardano can easily be bought and traded on major exchanges such as Binance. Minimum fees associated with each Cardano transaction is calculated using fixed formula,

a + b × size
where:
a is a special constant, at the moment it is 0.155381 ADA;
b is a special constant, at the moment it is 0.000043946 ADA/byte;
size is the size of the transaction in bytes.

So least transaction fee associated with any transaction is 0.155381 ADA plus additional 0.000043946 ADA per byte.

Cardano aims to solve the problem of scalability currently prevalent in the cryptocurrency industry aka Transactions per seconds (TPS), Network bandwidth and Data storage.

Ouroboros Protocol

The platform has its own Proof of Stake algorithm called Ouroboros, implements whitepaper uses a unique way to create transaction blocks in a blockchain. If the node has coins greater than zero then it is called stakeholder. If the node is chosen to mine a new block then it is called slot leader. The algorithm offers rewards to miners in the form of transaction fees and cryptocurrency, but in addition, also offers incentives for availability and transfer verification over investment. The owners claim that the algorithm is more secure and the network system works at a quicker rate than in other cryptocurrencies.

RINA (Network Scalability)

In December 2017, Charles Hoskinson announced plans to integrate a Recursive Inter-network architecture (RINA) that is being currently developed in plans and is expected to be fully adopted sometime in 2019. The architecture works in a heterogeneous network rather than the currently in use homogenous networks that are currently employed in another cryptocurrency. RINA allows the network to work quicker than the homogenous ones and provides transactions more securely and efficiently.

Data (Storage Scalability)

Currently, the techniques used by other cryptocurrency networks employ large amounts of data required by single nodes to store the information. Cardano employs a prescriptive use of various solutions to minimize the data consumption in the single nodes such as data pruning and creating sidechains and other forms of compression. Cardano aims to solve this problem by creating a system of data solutions used either simultaneously or in isolation, depending upon the specific needs of the issue while at the same time not compromising the entire security of the transactions. The founders of the platform believe that it is still possible to come up with data storage solutions without having to spend a lot of money.

Good Partnerships

In January 2018, Emergo and SIRIN LABS announced that they will partner with Cardano in order to build technology to expand the ecosystem of the platform. While Emergo will help companies and businesses to integrate their operations with Cardano’s blockchain platform, SIRIN LABS is a company that provides security on smartphones and other handheld devices. The company’s open source operating system has the capability to blockchain applications and support other cryptocurrency based processes, such as mining and cryptocurrency wallets. Cardano is already looking towards the future and the possibility of its integration into mobile devices.

Future Development

Recently, Cardano announced via a blog that they have plans to help African countries such as Rwanda to deal with the problem of Landownership. The blog said that the founding members of the platform had plans to set up a digital platform that could be used as a property registration and verification portal. The platform will be run on blockchain based technology and will have the capability to identify land through GPS coordinates. John P’ Connor Director of the African operations at IOHK, announced that the company has every intention of making Cardano the blockchain used for land registries and various other governmental tasks. The project is expected to commence by the end of the year, with Ethiopia being the first country where the platform will be first implemented.

It might still be early days for Cardano and its cryptocurrency, but it has already developed a firm following. The platform is the first one to be developed by a global team of innovators and engineers, and considerable thought has been given to its various design and network related processes. The platform aims to create a balance between the needs of the users and those of the regulators, thereby providing a fair harmonious environment to the financial sector.

What do you think? Will Cardano become the next big thing in the cryptocurrency world? Let us know in the comments