About Cardano Cryptocurrency
A cryptocurrency is loosely defined as a form of digital currency or tokens that exist on a decentralized ledger or blockchain technology. Cryptocurrencies are named so because of the involvement of complex cryptography that allows the processing and creation of virtual currencies and their transactions across the decentralized system. Alongside this important feature, the most important feature of cryptos is the commitment to decentralization.
Cryptocurrencies are developed as a code by teams of programmers who encode in mechanisms for issuance (often, but not always, through a process called crypto-mining) and other controls. This technology gave birth to the development of decentralized systems that will require little or no oversight for their work. These systems are called Decentralised Finance systems or DeFi systems.
In 2008, a mysterious man Santoshi Yakamoto came up with the cryptocurrency concept during the crumbling state of the global markets. This currency was called Bitcoin. But Bitcoin is not the only virtual currency in the market. Bitcoin leads the pack of cryptocurrencies, however, other currencies like Ethereum are helping the development of Decentralised Finance systems which constantly work on developing better and more efficient altcoins with newer features.
So in this article, we will read about one such Decentralised Finance System that has caught the eyes of various investors around the world. This DeFi is Cardano and its primary cryptocurrency is ADA.
It should be noted that Cardano is a Decentralised Finance System that develops virtual coins and it is not the currency itself.
About Cardano: An overview of ADA Cryptocurrency
Ethereum is a platform that constantly works on developing a booming digital economy. It is working on various legs of the digital economy. One such space is the development of various other DeFis on its platform. Charles Hoskinson created proof-of-work blockchain Ethereum to understand the various complications and challenges in developing a DeFi and Crypto. So, in 2015, he started working on Cardano and its primary currency ADA which was then launched in the year 2017. So Cardano is a third-generation decentralized proof-of-stake platform based in Zug, Chicago, that is designed to be a more efficient alternative to the proof-of-work system.
Cardano has been developed to run on the Ouroboros consensus protocol which is the first proof-of-stake protocol. This protocol has not only been proved to be a secure system but also has been the first one to be informed by scholarly academic research. What shapes Cardano towards a much more efficient path and success is the way it has been developed. Every stage of development has been research-based. This means that every phase involved peer-reviewed insights that were based on evidence and hence progress was made towards achieving milestones in future applications and directions of development. This was incorporated in both, the blockchain network and the ADA token.
Biggest Highlights of the Platform:
- It is a Decentralised Application development platform that provides for verifiable smart contracts and a multi-asset ledger
- Cardano works on Ouroboros protocol
- The primary cryptocurrency of Cardano is the ADA
- The development of the project was overseen by Charles Hoskinson who was earlier a part of Ethereum. In fact, he was a co-founder of Ethereum. However, he wished to make it venture capital, while the other co-founders wanted it to be kept as a nonprofit organization.
- Cardano is named after Gerolamo Cardano. (Also known as Geronimo, was an i=Italian polymath who was proficient in mathematics, physics, biology, chemistry. astrology, and astronomy. He had been one of the key persons involved in founding Probability and introducing binomial coefficients and binomial theorem in the Western world.)
- Cardano does not have white paper. It uses design principles instead, for overcoming the issues faced in scalability, interoperability, and regulatory compliances.
- Cardano is the first to be founded based on peer-reviewed research and evidence-based methods.
Brief about ADA:
- The ADA currency is named after Ada Lovelace. The subunit of ADA is Lovelace. 1 ADA = 1,000,000 Lovelaces. (Ada Lovelace was an Anglish Mathematician and Writer who is known for her work on general-purpose computers, the analytical engine. She was one of the first persons to recognize the application of this device in more than just calculation. She had been the first to publish an algorithm intended to develop such a machine. Hence she is also regarded as the first computer programmer)
- ADA was launched in December 2017 with a price of INR 7.04, When it was at its peak in August 2021, it was being traded at INR 209.40 per token. However, since then till YTD, the currency has seen a bearish trend.
- ADA is the primary cryptocurrency of Cardano foundation that uses the Proof of Stake algorithm to develop smart contracts of the highest level of security and sustainability.
The Biggest Competitions To Cardano:
- Ethereum: A platform found in 2014 and based in Zug, Chicago, is built with the motive to help the developers to build and publish decentralized distributed applications. The founder of Cardano was a co-founder of Ethereum. Ethereum is a nonprofit organization. The Average Daily Transactions Volume of Ethereum was around 2 Billion Dollars in 2018.
- Lisk: Founded in 2016, it is a blockchain applications platform based in Zug, Chicago. It was found by Max Kordek. The Average Daily Transactions Volume of Lisk stood at around 94.7 Million Dollars in 2018.
- Waves: Also known as DL Tech is a globalized platform that focuses on custom blockchain token operations. It was founded in the year 2016 by Alexander Ivanov in Moscow, Russia.
- Block.one: It is a blockchain-based platform that works on providing end-to-end solutions for bringing the blockchain from strategic planning to product development. It is a Georgia-based company founded by Brendan Blumer in the year 2016. In 2018, the Average Daily Transactions Volume stood at 493.3 Million Dollars.
- Qtum: A Singapore-based company founded by Patrick Dai, Jordan Earls, and Neil Mahl was set up in 2016 and their ICO of Qtum coin was held in 2017. Qtum’s platform works on an open-source value transfer protocol and it is a decentralized application platform. As of 2018, its Average Daily Transactions Volume stood at 843.7 Million Dollars.
