Cardano (ADA)

Table of Contents:

• What is Cardano? Who created this project?
• Ouroboros - the protocol on which Cardano is based
• What is ADA cryptocurrency? What is its function?
• How to mine ADA cryptocurrency?
• ADA cryptocurrency staking - what is it?
• Cardano on the chart - how much is the ADA cryptocurrency?
• On which exchanges is the ADA cryptocurrency listed?
• Which wallet to choose for Cardano (ADA)?

What is Cardano? Who created this project?

Cardano is a cryptocurrency project that evolves over time. The idea of its creation was born in 2015 - interestingly, it did not have an authoritative white paper. His goal was and is going beyond the box. It aims to change the way cryptocurrencies are designed and developed. Cardano wants to provide a more diverse and therefore sustainable ecosystem, taking into account the dynamically changing needs of users as well as systems striving for integration.

It is an open source project - with open-source code. The Cardano team believes that the ability to make a soft or hard fork is critical to the long-term success of a cryptocurrency.

Charles Hoskinson is at the forefront of this project. Moreover, he is also the co-founder of Ethereum. He started his cooperation with Vitalik Buterin at the end of 2013. He left this project in June 2014. Before he got interested in blockchains, he studied analytical number theory. He was persuaded by a colleague to create a new project called Input-Output Hong Kong (IOHK). This is how an engineering and research company focused on building cryptocurrencies and blockchains was created.

Cardano was only launched in 2017 - after raising $ 60 million in a public fundraiser (ICO). Interestingly, this is one of the first platforms to be built with the Haskell programming language. The team behind this project consists of researchers and engineers with vast knowledge and experience. Cardano is supported by three organizations with separate ownership and leadership functions: IOHK, which designs and builds this project, Emurgo, responsible for supporting commercial ventures, and the Cardano Foundation - which oversees the development of the ecosystem.

Ouroboros - the protocol on which Cardano is based

Ouroboros is featured on the official Cardano website as one of the safest, most scalable and energy-efficient protocols. According to the concept of the whole project, it is in a phase of constant evolution.

How does Ouroboros work? Well, when processing blocks, it divides the chain into the so-called epochs, and these are divided into the so-called time slots. For each such segment, a leader is selected who is responsible for adding a block to the chain.

The mechanism of this protocol rewards participants for their honest behavior and discourages actions to the detriment of the network.

The Cardano development plan has been divided into 5 eras: Byron, Shelly, Goguen, Basho and Voltaire. Although each of them develops a set of other functions, they all happen in parallel.

What is ADA cryptocurrency? What is its function?

ADA is a cryptocurrency belonging to the Cardano project. Users from all over the world can use it to exchange value safely and quickly, without the need to involve a third party in the process. Each such transaction is recorded on the Cardano blockchain.

Fun fact: The ADA cryptocurrency is named after Ada Lovelance. This woman lived in the nineteenth century, was a mathematician and is considered the world's first computer programmer. The smaller units of the virtual currency belonging to the Cardano project are referred to as Lovelance in honor of her name.

How to mine ADA cryptocurrency?

The Cardano project differs from Bitcoin in that it was not based on Proof of Work (PoW). Instead, it has its own stake posting protocol which we mentioned above - it is Ouroboros. The Cardano blockchain is divided into the so-called epochs, each of them has a leader responsible for creating and confirming blocks on the blockchain. 
Unlike PoW, Ouroboros is less energy intensive.

ADA cryptocurrency staking - what is it?

ADA cryptocurrency users from the transition to the Shelly era, can stack this cryptocurrency. Investors freeze their coins for a while and receive a reward in return. This process is also very important for the Cardano network itself, as the selected validators are responsible for transaction processing.

When it comes to staking rewards, these are paid recurringly. Interestingly, Cardano users can stack their ADA cryptocurrencies at any time - it's this flexibility that sets it apart from the competition. It is also important that these people can start their own pool or join the existing one. The ADA cryptocurrency stacking model itself was created in such a way as to avoid centralization.

While other blockchains rely on single nodes for betting, Cardano is completely different, but it is more pool-based - they keep the validator network large. Advanced users may be tempted to create their own pool and get more profit, novice investors can place their ADA coins in an already existing pool, which is a much easier way. They can stack their cryptocurrencies from wallets such as: Daedalus or Yoroi.

If the user wants to run his own pool, he must:

• have operational knowledge on how to run and maintain the Cardano node 24/7
• have the necessary skills in operating the system, skills in operating and maintaining the server

If the user wants to join an already existing pool:

• he will only need reliable access to the Internet

After placing an ADA bet, it doesn't have to do anything, the prizes are paid automatically, you don't need to send any requests. 

Cardano on the chart - how much is the ADA cryptocurrency?

Its ATH - the highest price level, this cryptocurrency recorded on May 16,2021. Its price was then $2.46 per coin.

The current exchange rate of the cryptocurrency belonging to Cardano is about $2.27  (as of September 23, 2021). As for the ADA market capitalization, it is $73,075,590,675 . This cryptocurrency ranks 11th in the CoinMarketCap ranking.

On which exchanges is the ADA cryptocurrency listed?

This cryptocurrency is offered by many popular exchanges. It can be purchased, for example, on Binance in tandem with Tether (USDT) or Bitcoin (BTC) or the American dollar (USD), for example on Kraken.

A full list of cryptocurrency platforms that support ADA cryptocurrency can be found here.

Which wallet to choose for Cardano (ADA)?

Before choosing a cryptocurrency wallet, it is worth having a basic understanding of how it works. The important thing in all this is that the person assigning his virtual currencies to the public address manages it with a private key - it is something like a wallet password. If the user loses his key or reveals it to strangers, he may lose his cryptocurrencies.

Cryptocurrency wallets fall into two main categories: cold and hot. These, in turn, can be sorted by subcategory. Their description and examples can be found in the table below.