What is Cardano (ADA)? - A Beginner's Guide

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What is Cardano (ADA)?

“Cardano is a proof-of-stake blockchain platform: the first to be founded on peer-reviewed research and developed through evidence-based methods. … [Cardano is] A new type of currency. A new means of transaction. Direct. Secure. From Anywhere. For Everyone” - Via Cardano.org

cardano-logo

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Cardano is a decentralised cryptocurrency and open source project that is seeking to improve the world through technological progress. Cardano was created as a result of scientific research, engineering thought leadership, and input from many expert stakeholders and leading academics around the globe. The team behind Cardano aims to create a platform for global financial services that can be trusted that exists outside of our current centralised financial system.

Cardano has three core principles: academic rigour, robust engineering, and an inclusive community. This blog post will discuss what makes Cardano different than other cryptocurrencies on the market today.

“A platform built for a sustainable future, to help people work better together, trust one another, and build global solutions to global problems.” Via Cardano.org

What does Cardano Mean?

The Cardano project is named after the mathematician, scientist and philosopher who invented “Cardan’s Formula,” a way to calculate the geometric sum of three unknown quantities. The Cardano team chose this symbol as an ode to his work in algebraic geometry.

What is ADA?

Cardano’s token ADA is named after Ada Lovelace : a 19th-century mathematician who is recognised as the first computer programmer, and is the daughter of the poet Lord Byron.

What can you do with ADA?

ADA is a digital currency and as such can be used as an exchange of value without requiring a 3rd party to be involved with the transaction (E.g. Paypal).

Are Cardano And Polkadot Competitors?

No, Cardano is not a competitor to the Polkadot project. Cardano’s goal is create a platform for global financial services that can be trusted and used by anybody in any part of the world. This will use blockchain technology and it does have some similarities with what Polkadot aims to do - however there are a few differences.

The Cardano team, in partnership with the Ethiopian government is currently using blockchain technology to resolve the issue of fake certifications in Education and give students in Ethiopia a way to record their progress using NFC cards.

Polkadot aims to create an entirely new internet for decentralised networks, where many different blockchains will be able to form interconnected spaces. Cardano is not focusing on achieving this goal in the same way - they are instead creating a platform that provides an environment for decentralised applications.

For a comparison of Cardano vs Polkadot check out our blog post here.

Why do some people say Cardano Is Dead?

Cardano is not dead nor dying. Cardano has been at the top of the cryptocurrency market for a while now. Cardano is currently in the top 10 by coin by Market Capitalisation . Cardano is also relatively new compared to many of its competitors.

Are Cardano Fees High?

No. Cardano fees are low in comparison to other cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum . This is due to their consensus algorithm called Ouroboros which utilises Proof-of-Stake rather than power hungry mining hardware as seen on competing blockchains.

Cardano Fee Structure: https://docs.cardano.org/en/latest/explore-cardano/cardano-fee-structure.html

Are Cardano Stake Pools Safe?

Yes. Cardano stake pools are safe due to the fact that they can only use ADA and not other cryptocurrencies, which means there is no risk of investment loss outside of this pool like on Bitcoin or Ethereum’s mining setups.

The primary disadvantage in using a Cardano stake pool is you will be sharing all rewards with everyone else in the pool.

Notwithstanding, Cardano stake pools are still a viable investment and can earn large returns. There is also no risk of losing value due to other currencies or tokens being used in mining which may lead to significant losses on investments elsewhere.

No matter what your needs are as an ADA holder, there should be some sort Cardano is a versatile cryptocurrency.

Are Cardano Coins Limited?

Cardano has a finite supply, with an estimated total of 45 billion ADA in circulation. The idea behind this is that Cardano’s price will increase as the number of coins available gradually decreases.

Is Cardano Staking Profitable?

Cardano have created a staking calculator that enables you to work out what rewards you will receive based on your ADA investment. In our example below, a 10,000 ADA investment you could expect to receive $811 on a yearly basis.

cardano-staking-calculator

Are Cardano Pools Safe?

Cardano pools are safe if the pool is well maintained and have a good reputation. Ensure to do your research before hand. Use our stake pool comparison sites below to make an informed decision.

Stake Pool Comparison Sites

What Are Cardano Staking Rewards?

Cardano offers a consensus algorithm called Ouroboros. Besides being distributed, it also provides Cardano with rewards for creating blocks and maintaining the blockchain (more on this below).

- Cardano’s Proof of Stake system is known as “Ouroboros .” This unique security mechanism has been argued by many experts to be one of the best in the world.

- In a PoS system, people who own tokens are allowed to participate and earn rewards for maintaining the blockchain ledger through individual nodes on their computers

What Are Cardano Smart Contracts?

Cardano’s smart contracts can be considered “a little smarter than Ethereum .” The reason for this is that they are able to work with many different types of cryptocurrencies, not just ADA.

Goguen will also see improvements to the core Cardano offering. Most significantly, the addition of a multi-currency ledger will extend the usefulness of Cardano even further, enabling users to create new natively-supported tokens. This will allow the creation of fungible and non-fungible tokens, supporting the creation of new cryptocurrencies on Cardano as well as the tokenization of many types of digital and physical assets. Another benefit will be easier integration of smart contracts and DApps involving multiple cryptocurrencies. - Via Cardano.org

- This makes them more flexible and allows them to do much more in terms of functionality.

- Cardano smart contracts are also written in a programming language called Plutus , which is similar to Haskell.

- One of the best features of Cardano smart contracts is that they are designed for formal verification. This means that every action will be mathematically checked and verified before it gets sent out on the network.

Can Cardano Overtake Ethereum?

This a question a lot of new investors ask when they are considering what to invest in. Cardano is a cryptocurrency and blockchain project that has its own distributed ledger. Cardano seeks to provide users with even more privacy than Ethereum while also making the user experience as easy-to-use as possible for developers, which can then create DApps on top of Cardano’s platform. Cardano uses a Proof-of-Stake algorithm to verify transactions, and has a significant focus on making sure the system is as scalable as possible.

Cardano also features a language called Haskell that enables developers to write code in a “pluggable” way, meaning they can choose among different back-end languages such as C++ and Rust without having to rewrite it all from scratch.

Cardano also uses two unique features called Ouroboros, which is Cardano’s Proof-of-Stake algorithm to verify transactions, and has a significant focus on making sure the system is as scalable as possible. The other feature of Cardano is called the Cardano Settlement Layer, which handles ADA transactions.

Cardano’s goal is to eventually become a system that can manage smart contracts and digital assets with formal verification of code and secure data storage. It also aims to be able to conduct high-volume instantaneous transactions while maintaining low transaction fees.

Can Cardano Be Mined?

Cardano operates on a proof of stake model rather than a proof of work, meaning it can’t be mined per se. Cardano’s Proof-of-Stake algorithm is called Ouroboros and it allows users to stake ADA in order to verify transactions.

The Cardano Settlement Layer process handles the sending and receiving of digital assets like ADA or other cryptocurriences among parties while the smart contracts side manages any type of agreement between

How Cardano Staking Works?

Cardano is a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) cryptocurrency, which means that any Cardano user can be rewarded with new ADA tokens if they allow their wallet to connect to the network and act as a “staking node”. Staking nodes will receive newly minted coins in return for helping maintain the security of Cardano’s blockchain. These nodes are randomly chosen to create new blocks of transactions and receive rewards in the form of Cardano tokens for completing a set number of successful “confirmations” - or verifications that their block conforms to Cardano rules. Blocks can take minutes, hours, days, weeks, or even months to Convert Cardano (ADA) to Other Cryptocurrencies

Converting any cryptocurrency can be done at many online exchanges. This is usually as simple as inputting the wallet address of the currency that you want to receive and a desired payment amount, then waiting for your new coins to arrive in your account. Some popular options are Changelly ,

How Will Cardano Change The World?

- Cardano is a smart contract platform that supports complex computations.

- It is an open source, decentralised and public blockchain network with high security levels, which includes many advanced features such as decentralised applications (DDpp), sidechains and quantum resistance signatures.

- The aim of Cardano is to compete with Ethereum by providing more

How is Cardano Is Created?

In Cardano’s system, a process called `Ouroboros` generates new blocks. To execute this process, there is a set of nodes that are randomly chosen and run in parallel to come up with solutions for the next block. This randomization prevents any one person from manipulating the network because they would need at least 51% of the total number of nodes running to accomplish such a task. This is just one way Cardano attempts to create an egalitarian system, giving more power and control back into the hands of the people.

What is the Cardano Giveaway Scam?

As the price of Cardano ADA continues to rise there have been an increasing number of sophisticated (and non sophisticated scams that are targeting Cardano investors. Charles Hoskinson has been very vocal that Cardano Never gives away any ADA. Despite this warning there have been YouTube live events that have featured older interviews with Charles in that encourage people to send money in exchange for more Cardano “rewards”.

charles-hoskinson-giveaway-scams-youtube

Charles Hoskinson on Cardano Giveaway Scams (Video)

Cardano Price Predictions 2021

One of the most common questions around Cardano ADA is people are always asking what price it will reach. Following Dogecoin-mania , it seems like there are no rules anymore and it would be unfair on Cardano to even predict what is likely for the Cryptocurrency.

What Exchanges can you buy Cardano on?

- ADA can be purchased on many different cryptocurrency exchanges, such as Coinbase and OKEx for example.

- You can also buy Cardano ADA using Crypto.com. (And get $25) if you sign up for their metal cards.

Read our Crypto.com Review here.

When Cardano On Coinbase?

Cardano is already active on Coinbase and you can sign up here.

cardano-coinbase

Cardano Where To Store?

Once you have purchased your Cardano (ADA) you can store your Cardano either on an Exchange or it is advised to store it in a wallet such as the Daedelus or Yoroi wallet.

Which Cardano On Trust Wallet?

According to the Trust Wallet assets page, Cardano is not yet supported.

Who Owns Cardano? Who Created Cardano?

The team that designed and developed ADA is led by one of the co-founders of Ethereum, Charles Hoskinson.

How Does Cardano Work? - Unlike Bitcoin (BTC) or other cryptocurrencies, which use a single public ledger where all transactions are recorded in blocks mined with computers and then stored on the chain, Cardano uses a more complex system. It has two parallel blockchains which are open to independent verification and validation from outside parties via “interactive proof-of-work” protocol.

Is Cardano Open Source? - Yes, the team behind ADA seeks input from people all around the world for future development of Cardano.

Cardano Roadmap

- Cardano is still in its early days and has a long way to go before it becomes the next big thing.

- The team behind ADA plans for Cardano to be built with scalability, interoperability, sustainability (environmental), and improving regulatory compliance as the key focuses.

Who Accepts Cardano?

Below are a list of links that provide information of merchants that accept Cardano. If you know of any more please let us know by contacting us , or leave a comment below.

https://emurgo.io/en/blog/introducing-more-merchants-accepting-cardano-ada

https://emurgo.io/en/blog/introducing-more-merchants-accepting-cardano-ada-part-2

https://emurgo.io/en/blog/introducing-more-merchants-accepting-cardano-ada-part-3

https://emurgo.io/en/blog/cardano-ada-payment-tamuken

https://www.metaps.com/press/en/518-metaps-plus-cryptocard-en

https://blog.travala.com/travala-com-adds-cardano-ada-as-payment-option-to-book-at-over-1-65-million-hotels-globally/

https://medium.com/cotinetwork/adapay-solution-is-now-live-13b5ca506f37

Can you use Cardano For NFTs?

Cardano have had interest from Occam and Bondly to grow NFT and DeFi use on their platform.

Mark Berger, President of the Occam Association, said:

“Bondly has emerged as an NFT leader and together, we believed our partnership, and by extension the Cardano ecosystem, is a natural fit. Together, we will pursue opportunities to incubate NFT startups and bring high-quality projects across our respective launchpad infrastructure.”

Cardano is just starting it’s NFT journey as we write. Charles has indicated on his YouTube that the first NFT will be an image of him that was drawn by a fan.

Cardano Is A Good Investment?

We think it is in the long term, but please do your own research (and this does not represent financial advice)!. Cardano is still a relatively new project compared to some of the other more established crypto projects in the space. Purely from a research standpoint and development perspective Cardano has spent a lot of time trying to create their vision of what the perfect cryptocurrency looks like. They may not be the fastest, but their processes are well thought through and the project generally seems like a force for good rather than some other Alt Coins that are clearly just there to ride the cryptowave.

Is Cardano The Next Bitcoin?

- Cardano is one of the most popular cryptocurrencies in the world.

- People are very excited about Cardano because it seems to have everything going for it: a passionate team, an ambitious vision, solid technological under

- To say it is “the next Bitcoin” is a huge step though, although the technology is seen as 3rd generation technology it is not yet got the mass adoption that Bitcoin has.

Cardano Block Explorer?

You can look at the Cardano Block explorer here:

https://explorer.cardano.org/en

Which is the best Cardano Hardware Wallet?

Ledger Nano X – Best hardware wallet for Cardano wallet for staking

Trezor Model T – trustworthy hardware wallet for Cardano

Ledger Nano S – Older but tried & tested wallet for ADA coins

Daedelus - Cardano’s main Wallet for Desktop

Yoroi – Best Cardano wallet for iOS mobile & Web browser

Does Cardano work With Ledger?

Yes, you can Send/Receive as well as Stake your Cardano with the Ledger Nano X and the Ledger Nano S .

Browse the Ledger range here .

Does Cardano work with Trezor?

The Trezor Model T supports Cardano, but the other Trezor models currently don’t support Cardano.

Can you Buy Cardano With Paypal?

Yes, if you use Coinbase , you can purchase Cardano with Paypal. Coinbase have supported Cardano since the 19th March.

Can you Buy Cardano Without KYC Verification or ID?

You can use Ocean X, Binance to buy Cardano without KYC.

How to Buy Cardano Without Fees?

The cheapest deal on fees we found was **OKex ** which have trading fees of 0.08%/0.1% and a withdrawal fee of 1.0 ADA. Binance, Bitthumb, Bitfinex also have similar fee levels.

How to buy Cardano with BTC, USD, GBP or EUR

We would recommend using Changelly for a fast transfer to buy Cardano.

Changelly provides a fast and secure way to exchange and purchase 150+ cryptocurrencies.

Cardano vs other Cryptos

Read our article on:

Cardano Vs Polkadot - https://cryptotravellers.com/cardano-vs-polkadot/

Main Websites

Discord

Telegram

Cardano community

Official YouTube Channels

Stake Pool Comparison Sites

Disclaimer: Cryptotravellers or the author are not a financial advisor and the information in this article is not financial advice and should not be construed in this way.

Luna Sanchez

Written By

Luna Sanchez

Luna graduated from University College London with a BA in English, minoring in creative writing. She specialises in writing financial news and analysis, as well as cryptocurrency news and information.

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