Cardano is a blockchain platform with more advanced features than any protocol yet developed, and the first to evolve out of a scientific philosophy. Our large team of expert engineers and researchers drawn from around the world started by deconstructing the concept of a cryptocurrency. Then, incorporating our groundbreaking Proof of Stake algorithm, Ouroboros, the IOHK team employed a first principles approach driven by peer reviewed academic research to build Cardano from the ground up.

This uniquely collaborative effort steadily constructed the most precisely engineered cryptocurrency yet, a product that brings together such disciplines as distributed systems, mechanism design and cryptography. The result is the first cryptocurrency to be based in Haskell code, an industrial strength product that delivers the resilience necessary for mission-critical systems, in this case securing investment.

Cardano’s multi layer protocol performs advanced functions, and has at its foundation a settlement layer that is elegantly linked to a control layer. The settlement layer will have a unit of account, while the control layer will run smart contracts. The control layer will be programmed to recognise identity, assisting compliance and allowing blacklisting for instance.

As a whole, the protocol’s design is geared towards protecting privacy rights of users, while also taking into account the needs of regulators. In doing so, Cardano is the first protocol to balance these requirements in a nuanced and effective way, pioneering a new approach for cryptocurrencies. In addition, while the platform has been solidly composed, we also recognise the need for it to evolve and adapt to changing needs. Consequently we have designed a system that can be upgraded by way of soft forks, and are installing a treasury system that will ensure the sustainability of the protocol.

Completely open source and patent-free, Cardano was built in a spirit of collaboration. And engineered for efficiency and scalability, the Cardano ecosystem is developing out into the most complete and most useful cryptocurrency ever constructed.