Cardano Coins – Investor’s Guide (History, Features, Stakeholders)
What are Cardano Coins?
Cardano Coins are an open-source and decentralized public blockchain platform that facilitates peer-to-peer transactions. These transactions take place with Ada, the internal cryptocurrency.
The Cardano operates on the Cardano blockchain which is used to build smart contracts, decentralized protocols, and applications too.
The major aim of creating Cardano is to create a smooth environment for the business and finance world.
It also aims to solve various blockchain-related problems. Cardano makes use of mathematical aspects to create secure blockchain and voting mechanisms for token holders. The consensus mechanism of Cardano makes it highly scalable.
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History of Cardano Coins
The concept of Cardano was first introduced in the year 2015 by the founder of Ethereum, Charles Hoskinson. But this platform was officially launched in the year 2017.
The Cardano project is supervised by its foundation which is based in Zug, Switzerland. Furthermore, a blockchain engineering company IOHK was founded by Charles Hoskinson.
The IOHK was created to encourage the development of Cardano, which is also its primary business.
Additionally, the platform Cardano was named after Gerolamo Cardano whereas its prominent cryptocurrency Ada got its name from Ada Lovelace.
Features of Cardano Coins
The unique public blockchain platform, Cardano has several prominent features which make it a healthy element in the crypto diet.
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Proof-of-stake:
- The Cardano operates on the proof-of-stake protocol which is named Ouroboros.
- It has been analyzed that proof-of-stake protocols consume less energy, which is 6 GWh annually.
- Recently, in the year 2021 Cardano is considered the biggest proof-of-stake cryptocurrency in the market.
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The solution to blockchain issues:
Cardano uses design principles to stand out amongst other cryptocurrencies.
- It does not have a white paper rather focuses on scalability, regulatory compliances, and interoperability aspects of the blockchain technology.
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Settlement Layer:
Cardano’s cryptocurrency Ada operates on various settlement layers which are somewhere similar to Bitcoin and Ethereum operations.
- The language of Cardano’s smart contract facilitates end-to-end testing on each program without the requirement of any integrated development environment.
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Daedalus wallet:
The Cardano owns its wallet for the ADA cryptocurrency named Daedalus. Apart from owning this wallet, the users can run a complete blockchain node which gives them full control over the funds.
- The ADA holders can also participate actively in the Cardano Staking system.
Stakeholders of Cardano
The core principles and smart contract that create Cardano does not only operate on the Cardano blockchain but also consists of various other stakeholders. There are three major stakeholders of Cardano are as follows:
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Cardano Foundation:
The Cardano, the non-profit organization acts as the custodian entity for the Cardano project. This organization helps to ensure the security of the blockchain and encourages its market sphere.
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Embargo:
- This large funding entity provides strong financial support and assists in the development process.
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IOHK:
- This Company was founded in the year 2015 by Charles Hoskinson and Jeremy Wood. It focuses on the design and engineering aspects of the Cardano blockchain.
Architecture of Cardano
The blockchain system of Cardano comprises of two core components namely CSL (Cardano Settlement Layer) and CCL (Cardano Computational Layer). The CSL provides the platform where users can transact through ADA instantaneously at the minimum transactional cost.
On the other hand, CCL is the set of protocols that serves as the firm backbone of the blockchain. The CCL helps to run smart contracts with complete security and create room for other advanced functionalities too.
The Cardano PoS protocol, Ouroboros ensures network consensus and facilitates smooth functioning of the Cardano blockchain.
The Ouroboros network selects required nodes to mine new blocks, these nodes are known by the name Slot Leaders. Further, these blockchain is bifurcated into slots named epoch.
The slot leaders are capable of mining the specific epoch, as a part of which users receive rewards for their service. The epoch can be divided infinitely which makes the Cardano culture highly scalable.
The mathematical security of the Ouroboros allows Cardano to randomly choose blockchain validators. As a result, it helps to eliminate excessive computational power.
The open-source code of the Cardano is written using a universally recognized programming language named Haskell.
Market Scenario of Cardano
In the early years of its introduction, Cardano was funded through Initial Coin Offering.
As a result, its market cap debuted at $ 600 million which grew to $10 billion by the end of 2017. In the year 2018, this powerful cryptocurrency crossed a value worth $33 billion.
To upgrade the Cardano ecosystem, various organizations showed their support. IOHK joined hands with Cardano in the year 2018 to deploy their best technology in this ecosystem.
Furthermore, in the year 2019 New Balance, the footwear manufacturer announced its pilot program on Cardano blockchain for its business growth.
Additionally, in 2020 IOHK donated $500,000 through Ada to the University of Wyoming to encourage its blockchain development plans.
The year 2021 added more strength to the Cardano ecosystem with the announcement of IOHK and the Ethiopia Ministry of Education to launch a record-keeping system on Cardano.
This is planned for the five million students of the country. Thus, Cardano is here to stay if its currency Ada adheres to all required expectations of the market.