About Cardano (ADA)

Cardano Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is Cardano's primary goal and vision?


Cardano's primary goal and vision is to create a more secure, transparent, and sustainable blockchain platform for the deployment of smart contracts and the development of decentralized applications. Its focus is on providing a more balanced and resilient ecosystem that better accommodates the needs of its users as well as regulatory requirements, while advancing technological and economic innovation.




How does Cardano aim to redistribute power in society?


Cardano aims to redistribute power in society through its decentralized blockchain platform, which allows for a more democratic and equitable financial system. Its proof-of-stake protocol, Ouroboros, enables more energy-efficient and scalable transactions. By giving stakeholders a say in network decisions and providing tools for the creation of decentralized applications (DApps), Cardano empowers individuals and communities to bypass traditional power structures. Its focus on interoperability, sustainability, and regulatory compliance also seeks to provide fair access to financial services for underserved populations worldwide.




Who was Cardano named after and why?


Cardano was named after Gerolamo Cardano, a renowned Italian mathematician and cryptographer. The platform is named in his honor due to his seminal work in the fields of probability and cryptography, areas foundational to the technology and principles underlying cryptocurrencies and blockchain.




What is the significance of the ADA token within the Cardano network?


The ADA token is the native cryptocurrency of the Cardano network, serving as a digital currency for secure and direct transfers of value. It also plays a fundamental role in network governance, entitling holders to participate in the on-chain governance process to vote on network upgrades and changes. Additionally, ADA is used to pay for transactions and smart contract operations on the Cardano blockchain, providing the necessary incentive for network validators and ensuring the economic sustainability of the platform.




Can you provide some examples of Cardano's real-world use cases?


Real-world use cases of Cardano include supply chain tracking, identity management, voting systems, and facilitating secure, peer-to-peer financial transactions. The platform's native token, ADA, is also used for staking and participating in the network's governance.




What previous cryptocurrency project was Charles Hoskinson involved with?


Charles Hoskinson was previously involved with the Ethereum project as a co-founder.




What is unique about Cardano's consensus mechanism?


Cardano's consensus mechanism, called Ouroboros, is unique as it's the first peer-reviewed, provably secure proof-of-stake protocol. It offers high security, reduced energy consumption compared to proof-of-work systems, and is designed to facilitate scalability and sustainability, enabling the network to handle a growing amount of transactions as Cardano's adoption increases.




How does the Cardano blockchain benefit from peer-reviewed research?


The Cardano blockchain benefits from peer-reviewed research by ensuring that its technology is robust, secure, and scalable, due to being rigorously evaluated and critiqued by experts. This process helps in identifying and addressing potential issues early on, leading to a more reliable and academically validated foundation for its protocols and updates.




What was the impact of the Shelley upgrade on Cardano's decentralization?


The Shelley upgrade significantly enhanced Cardano's decentralization by enabling staking and delegating capabilities, allowing network participants to earn rewards for their contributions. It introduced a decentralized proof-of-stake protocol, effectively distributing the power to validate and create new blocks to ADA holders. This marked Cardano's transition from a federated system to a community-run network and set the groundwork for greater scalability, governance, and self-sustainability.




What is the Goguen phase in Cardano's development?


The Goguen phase represents a significant update in Cardano’s development that introduces smart contract functionality to the Cardano blockchain, allowing developers to create decentralized applications (DApps) and enabling the execution of complex programmable value exchanges.




What are the expected improvements from the Vasil hard fork upgrade?


The Vasil hard fork upgrade is expected to bring performance enhancements to the Cardano network, increasing scalability and efficiency. It aims to improve smart contract capabilities with enhancements like new Plutus script features for developers and higher throughput for decentralized applications. The upgrade will also optimize the transaction processing mechanism to reduce latency and increase the network's capacity to handle higher volumes of transactions.




How does the CIP-31 proposal aim to optimize transaction throughput on Cardano?


The CIP-31 proposal, also known as 'Reference Inputs', aims to optimize transaction throughput on Cardano by allowing transactions to reference previous outputs as inputs without spending them. This means less data is needed per transaction, leading to more efficient use of block space and improved throughput.




What is the maximum supply of ADA coins?


The maximum supply of ADA coins is capped at 45 billion.




How was the initial supply of ADA distributed amongst founding entities?


The initial supply of ADA was allocated through private sales and a public sale, with a portion kept by IOHK, Emurgo, and the Cardano Foundation. These entities received ADA for their initial investment, ongoing development, and promotional efforts. However, specific distribution percentages for each entity were not publicly disclosed.




What protocol secures the Cardano network and how does it compare to PoW?


The Cardano network is secured by the Ouroboros protocol, which is a proof-of-stake (PoS) algorithm. Unlike proof-of-work (PoW) used by networks like Bitcoin, Ouroboros does not require extensive computational resources and energy consumption. It selects validators based on the number of tokens they hold and are willing to 'stake', creating a more energy-efficient and scalable system. This approach also enables faster transactions and reduced fees compared to PoW blockchain networks.




What are the key features of Cardano's Alonzo upgrade?


The Alonzo upgrade introduced smart contract functionality to the Cardano blockchain, enabling the creation and execution of smart contracts for decentralized applications (DApps). This upgrade also brought Plutus scripts, a Cardano-specific smart contract platform, and added capabilities for DeFi applications, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and various other innovative financial and social use cases. The Alonzo hard fork was a significant milestone in Cardano's development roadmap, aiming to expand the ecosystem and foster greater programmability and interoperability.




How does the Alonzo upgrade alter Cardano's capabilities in the smart contract space?


The Alonzo upgrade introduces smart contract functionality to the Cardano blockchain, enabling the creation and execution of programmable contracts. This significantly expands Cardano's capabilities, allowing for decentralized applications (DApps), custom token creation, and complex financial transactions, which are executed with the security and efficiency provided by Cardano's network.




How has the number of Cardano wallets changed since the Alonzo upgrade?


The number of Cardano wallets has continued to increase since the Alonzo upgrade, demonstrating growing adoption and user engagement in the network.




What challenges has Cardano faced in implementing smart contracts?


Cardano has faced several challenges in implementing smart contracts, including scalability issues, interoperability concerns, the requirement for formal verification of code, and a need to ensure a high-security standard. Additionally, the adoption of its smart contract language, Plutus, has been limited due to its Haskell-based foundation, which presents a learning curve for developers accustomed to more popular languages like Solidity. There have also been delays in development and updates, and the need to educate and grow a developer ecosystem around its unique framework.




What does the Alonzo upgrade mean for the comparison between Cardano and Ethereum?


The Alonzo upgrade brought smart contract functionality to Cardano, allowing it to directly compete with Ethereum by enabling decentralized applications (DApps) and programmable finance. It introduced features such as Plutus scripts, a platform for complex smart contracts. This upgrade positions Cardano as a more robust competitor to Ethereum by offering similar capabilities with a different underlying proof-of-stake consensus mechanism aimed at better scalability and energy efficiency.