What is Cardano?

Around 90 – 95% of cryptocurrency projects are a rip off of the Bitcoin (BTC) source code and Cardano isn’t one. Cardano is a project with a very ambitious scientific philosophy behind what they are trying to build. They are a decentralized public blockchain and cryptocurrency project that is fully open source.

Cardano is developing a smart contract platform which seeks to deliver more advanced features than any protocol previously developed. It is the first blockchain platform to evolve out of a scientific philosophy and a research driven approach. This isn’t just some made up statement that they are making, this is what they are doing. Cardano at its core is based on a scientific foundation.

Cardano utilizes a new proof of stake algorithm called Ouroboros, which determines how individual nodes reach consensus about the network. According to IOHK Papers, Ouroboros takes pride in its security features. This algorithm is not only essential to ensuring the ADA cryptocurrency is functioning properly, but it’s also a major advancement in blockchain technology. Additionally, Ouroboros offers efficiency advantages over blockchains based on proof of physically tangible resources.

The Cardano platform is built in layers, making it easier for the system to be maintained and for easier upgrades by using soft forks. After the settlement layer that runs ADA is complete, another computing layer is built to handle all smart contracts.

They believe you can take scientific applications such as computer science and engineering and apply that research to a cryptocurrency project. This is what really sets themselves apart from the rest of the community. We can think of Cardano as Ethereum’s arch nemesis, only much more advanced and Ethereum is in big trouble.

Why Was Cardano Built?

Cardano is referred to as a 3rd gen cryptocurrency with BTC being 1st and Ethereum being a 2nd gen. Bitcoin was created to be a simple accounting system; to process simple transactions between users. It wasn’t meant to become global which is why there are so many bitcoin forks.

Ethereum came along to solve this problem to provide a protocol for other cryptocurrencies to build on. This 2nd gen carried more features, was faster, implemented smart contracts, and was more scalable. Now Cardano comes along as the 3rd gen ready to change the crypto game. Here are a few major problems that Cardano aims to solve.

Scalability. Being able to scale the blockchain resulting in processing more transactions without violating anything that disrupts the security or inefficiency of the chain. Bitcoin and Ethereum cannot do that right now. There is too much demand in the world for those right now. They want to ensure they stay scalability, working towards that around the clock. (IOTAalso increased scalability due to being on their tangle network.) Interoperability. Ablility to interact and communicate with other blockchains. This could be done from a few different technologies such as side chains and atomic swaps. They want communication with different cryptocurrencies. Cryptocurrencies should be able to talk to each other and transact which is what they are trying to solve. Sustainability. Implementing a system of governance. Cardano wants to work towards building a governance system to engage the community and allow us to dictate policies and changes for the project.

Cardano Pros

Cardano takes their concepts and ideas and puts them through peer review. You can see their academic papers on their website. These academic papers are peer-reviewed at university level by people who are experts in this field. This shows Cardano is highly mature and much more respectable in the crypto field.

The development team consists of a large global collective of expert engineers and researchers. They have a very well-formed team with solid core principles with a long list of developers and engineers working on this project. There are very accredited individuals who work within the blockchain space.

Cardano has not been trying to market themselves. They didn’t create any ads such as 95% of the ICOs on the market right now.

Very clean, laid out timeline of the features they are trying to implement in the future. They have all kinds of resources for the different features that show they are trying to build this for the long-term.

The Cardano wallet, Daedalus, is a secure, multi-platform, HD (hierarchical deterministic) wallet for the Ada cryptocurrency.

Bringing credibility and industry high standards in cryptocurrencies. Certain cryptocurrencies will need or require regulations in the future and Cardano is positioning to be the main application to be used to fill this gap.

They have the opportunity to implement the most efficient proof of stake system to date which could set the standard for new blockchain companies to come. This would be the best proof of stake with low costs and more efficient.

Opportunity to develop standards for blockchain architecture, protocols, operations and usability. This would bring blockchain and cryptocurrencies to become more mainstream.

Cardano Cons

Ethereum is a large threat. It is already an established part of the crypto community in which Cardano is competing against.

EOS is a decentralized app in development. It is much like both Ethereum and Cardano but still in development.

Where to buy Cardano (ADA)?

In order to use ADA, you must download the Daedalus digital wallet. Daedalus is a highly secure HD wallet used for the ADA cryptocurrency.

You can buy ADA on Binance, too. I recommend that exchange because I personally use them. If you need additional help with this, check out my guide on how to buy ALT coins.

*NOTE* If you are looking for a cryptocurrency exchange providing the best crypto-to-crypto rates on the market, check out Changelly. Note that exchange times may vary depending on network congestion.

Conclusion

Cardano is quickly establishing itself as the more mature cryptocurrency in the space. This project is integrating scientific applications into cryptocurrency which could very well revolutionize the blockchain world. Cardano brings credibility to the world that still feels cryptocurrency is nothing important and won’t last. Considering there are a vast majority of opportunities waiting for Cardano, its future looks very bright.

If any information was missed or simply want to discuss this project, leave a comment below. Please share this if it helped you better understand the Cardano project, thanks!