For many people, Cardano’s history is the history of a project that prioritizes speed quality. Through module development, the network incorporates advanced features that promise to solve other blockchain historic problems, such as scalability and sustainability. This step-by-step approach allowed each improvement to be implemented safely and efficiently, enhancing the reliability of the long-term network.
1 What is Cardano?
There’s one cardano Blockchain Open source designed to run Distributed Applications y Intelligent contract. One of its main features is that it was developed with a rigorous academic approach based on peer-reviewed research with the aim of providing a safe and scalable infrastructure.
The network works through a mechanism Participation test (Sport of Stake o pos) Denominade Ouroborosit can validate transactions and generate new blocks with reduced energy consumption compared to other protocols such as work tests (proof of work).
Why is Cardano’s post called Ouroboros?
term Ouroboros It comes from the ancient Greek and means “to devour its tail” or “eat from its own tail.” On a symbolic level, the oily mating represents eternal cycles, infinite regeneration, and the interconnectedness of the universe. In 2017, Charles Hoskinson chose this name. This is because the system feeds itself, while reflecting ideas of continuous growth, lasting scalability and energy efficiency.
Cardano also incorporates a layer architecture that separates transaction registration from the execution of intelligent contracts. This makes it easier to update and correct the system without compromising network security.
Furthermore, its design is adaptable in areas such as traceability, digital identity, and distributed governance, as it supports interoperability with other blockchains and seeks to ensure transparency in data management.
2 What is ADA? How does it work?
ADA is a native token for the Cardan blockchain platformNamed in honor of the mathematics of Ada Lovelace in the 19th century, he was considered the first programmer in history. As a cryptocurrency, ADA is a way to promote transactions within a network and participate in network consensus mechanisms through staff.
In addition to its role as a means of payment and participation in consensus, the ADA plays an important role in Cardano governance. Token holders can suggest and vote for changes to the protocolaspects that take relevance to the stage of development aimed at full decentralization.
Additionally, with the maximum supply being limited to 45,000 million units, the ADA is designed to maintain time value due to scheduled rarity.
Who was Ada Lovelave?
Ada Lovelace (1815-1852) was an English mathematics and writer and daughter of poet Lord Byron. He worked with Charles Babbage on the analysis machine and translated an article on the project in 1843, adding a large note to it. In them he described the possibilities of machines that process not only calculations but also information of all kinds. He also presented an algorithm for calculating Bernoulli numbers, considered the first computer program.
3 The History of Cardano
Since its origins, Cardano has pursued a different approach based on academic science and rigor. Its history begins in 2014 when Charles Hoskinson, one of Ethereum’s co-founders, decided to separate it from the project due to strategic differences with Vitalik Buterin. Hoskinson promoted a model supported by risk capital, and Bugelin defended the non-profit structure.
After that rupture, in 2015, Hoskinson and his colleague Jeremy Wood founded the IOHK Technology Company (Enter Hong Kong, now known as IAG) with the aim of developing a new generation of blockchains.
Who is Charles Hoskinson?
Hoskinson was born in the United States in 1987 and studied both programming and mathematics in Denver and Colorado Boulder. During this first generation era, he studied the use of encryption in business solutions. Invictus, Ethereum y Cardano. For some time he also served as a Bitcoin consultant for an initiative called the Bitcoin Education Project.
For many, the scientific approach to the project has resulted in a systematic and transparent design. Cardano thought of himself as the first blockchain built on a solid academic base through peer review and collaboration with institutions such as the University of Edinburg.
The official release arrived in September 2017, and the mainnet was activated, and Byronthe network still operated under federal architecture, but introduced the liquidation layer (CSL), ADA cryptocurrency, and Daedalus wallets.
Since then, Cardano was developed according to a step-by-step structured roadmap, each oriented towards its main technical goals.
- Sherry (2020): By introducing delegated staking and community nodes, we have shown critical advances towards decentralization.
- Goguen (2021): Thanks to Hard Fork Alonzo, we have facilitated the implementation of intelligent contracts. This opened the platform for the development of Defi, NFTS, and distributed applications.
- They say (2022-2023): He focused on climbing the network with layer 2 solutions such as Hydra, which aimed to increase the number of transactions per second and improve interoperability.
- Voltaire (2024 and later): He focused on providing governance power to the community, allowing proposals and votes within the protocol, and promoting financial self-stableness in the ecosystem.
4 What is Cardano Governance?
Cardano Governance is a decentralized process that allows ADA owners to directly influence the future of the platform. Through the chain voting system, users can propose and approve protocol changes, manage treasure funds, and make important decisions regarding network development.
This governance model is based on three basic pillars:
- Delegated Representative (DREP): They are members selected by the community to represent their benefits to the vote. DREPS acts in the name of the ADA holder who delegates the voting rights to ensure that decisions reflect the collective consent of the community.
- Constitutional Committee (CC): This committee oversees and maintains the constitution of Cardano, ensuring that all decisions and proposals are consistent with the basic principles of the network.
- Pool participating operators (stake pool): In addition to verifying blocks, stake pools participate in the governance process, provide technical experience and contribute to decisions regarding the protocol.
The decision is made through a democratic voting process in which each DREP votes a vote weighted by the amount the community has adapted. To approve a proposal, you must receive support from at least two of the three mentioned pillars. Once approved, the proposal will be implemented at the boundary of the following period:
What does cardano mean?
Cardano’s name is inspired by Italian physicist, physical and mathematician Geroramo Cardano. Born in the early 1500, he was the first to publish solutions to the equations for third and fourth graders. He was also an important figure in the fundamentals of research into probability and mechanisms.
5 How does the Usoloboros Consensus Protocol work?
As shown above, the Cardano Consensus Protocol is Ouroboros, a second-generation POS protocol that developed an update to the original Ouroboros Classic. It was Designed to address synchronous communication restrictions and improve security against adaptive adversarieswhich can corrupt nodes while the protocol is running.
Important concepts
To understand the function of Ouroboros, you need to first understand these important concepts.
Time and slots: The running time of usoloboros is divided into fixed periods (currently 5 days). Each ERA is divided into a series of time slots (slots) for the second period.
Slot Reader (Slot Reader): For each slot, a slot reader is selected to create a new block. This is the fundamental difference with Pow, where all miners compete at the same time.
Participating groups (stake pool)Instead, each ADA holder manages its own node, and the protocol encourages stake pool delegation. These are trustworthy servers run by people and organizations. Joining ADA staking in a stake pool will increase your chances of being selected as a slot leader.
Verifiable Random Functions (VRFs): This is the encryption engine that drives the randomness of slot reader selection. VRFs can demonstrate stake pools through private and public keys that are legally selected as slot leaders without prior identification. This prevents possible attackers from attacking the next slot reader.
In stages
Preparation (before the start of a new era)At the end of each era, the protocol determines the distribution of participation in the next era. This is based on participation that was previously active twice. This prediction mechanism ensures that the randomness in slot leader selection is unpredictable and unaffected by current era activity.
Slot Reader Selection: At the beginning of the new era, all active participating groups perform a verifiable random function (VRF) for each slot. The VRF combines the previous random seeds with the current and secret key numbers of the group. The results are verifiable pseudo numbers.
“lottery”: If the number generated by a stake pool VRF is below a certain threshold, this will earn you the right to be the slot leader for that particular slot. The threshold is directly proportional to the amount of participation delegated to the group. Essentially, the larger the stake pool, the lower the threshold and the higher the chances of winning.
Block production and propagation: The selected slot reader collects transactions from the Mempool on the network, creates and signs new blocks. The block contains the output and tests of the VRF. This uses other nodes to ensure that other nodes have been generated by legitimate slot readers. The new block is sent to the network.
Chain selection: Some stake pools may be slot readers selected for the same slot, which can cause temporary branching. When this occurs, the protocol chain selection rule determines that all nodes should adopt the longest chain they have seen. Blocks spread faster by networks are most likely part of the longest chain.
Rewards and incentives: At the end of the era, the protocol distributes rewards from the Commission for Trade and Cardano Reserve. Rewards are calculated according to the amount of blocks that generate a pool of participation and are distributed proportionally to participation between the pool operator and his representative. This promotes honest participation and delegation. The protocol also uses saturation mechanisms to avoid centralization, reduce the rewards of overgrown pools, and encourages dealers to look for small pools.
How about Cardano Transactions?
Bitcoin’s UTXO’s “basic” accounting model is not suitable for Cardano as it is designed to manage payments only. In particular, the need for greater expressiveness of programming for the functionality of intelligent contracts required new (“extension”) solutions. Therefore, in Cardano, the transaction is based on a A system called eutxo (Unexpanded transaction output)the evolution of the UTXO model that uses Bitcoin.
The Eutxo model is extended to UTXO by adding personalized data to the output (in addition to values). It also allows for an increase in the number of “clogs” and “keys” to be determined under which conditions under which output can be released for transaction consumption. In other words, instead of simply having a public key (hash) to the corresponding lock and the enterprise that acts as a “key”, eutxo allows arbitrary logic in the form of a script. This optional logic examines the transaction and data to determine whether the transaction is able to use the entry.
The EUTXO model introduces improvements such as adding additional information and associating validation scripts that facilitate the prediction of intelligent contract execution. This allows users to know in advance whether the transaction is valid, how much it costs, reduces uncertainty and avoids expensive errors.
A transaction is initiated when the issuer selects available UTXE and builds a committee to pay the operations, quantities, and network enablers that specify recipients.
When signed with a private key, the transaction is sent to the network and the node ensures that the company is valid, that UTXE is not used, and that the related conditions are met. If everything is correct, the transaction is included and verified in the block, ensuring that the output created will be available for future operations.
6 What makes Cardano unique in scalability and security?
Regarding scalability, this Networks are distinguished by layer separation Among the Cardano Payment Layer (CSL) specialising in registering transactions, and the Cardano Computation Layer (CCL) where intelligent contracts are executed. This department allows each layer to be independently optimized, making it easy to update in the future without disrupting global features.
Additionally, it implements technologies such as Hydra, a second layer climbing solution that allows multiple transactions to be processed in parallel outside the main chain, increasing network capacity without compromising safety or decentralization. It works by creating something called “Hydra Heads.” This is a channel outside the main chain where small groups of participants can handle transactions quickly and at minimal cost.
In terms of security, Cardano uses research-based development methods reviewed by peers and used in formal verification of its code to reduce the probability of serious errors and vulnerabilities.
Similarly, Useboros Consensus Protocol, along with a carefully designed incentive model, guarantees resistance to attacks of 51%, ensuring that network integrity is maintained even at disadvantage. This approach combines robust encryption with governance and renewal processes that minimize risk and promote long-term sustainability.
7 Applications developed in Cardano
There are many projects developed in the Cardano Network, but some of the most important projects we can mention are:
1. MINSWAP
Distributed exchange (DEX) based on the AMM model (automatic market maker). This allows users to exchange Cardano Network tokens without intermediaries, providing liquidity and agricultural pools at a low cost. This is one of the most integrated DEXs in the ecosystem.
2. Sundaeswap
Another native cardanodex that allows for tokens, staking and farm exchanges. It stands out for Cardano’s own adaptability to EUTX models and handling significant liquidity and transactional volumes.
3. liqwid finance
This is a non-integrated defi protocol that allows you to rent and rent at a rate that is automatically adjusted according to supply and demand. There is a liquidity and active governance pool through token LQ.
4. Indigo Protocol
This is another protocol liability focusing on synthetic assets (“IASSETS”) that replicate actual assets values (such as gold or actions) exposed to these devices in a chain.
5. JPG Store
This is the Cardano NFTS market. You can buy and sell NFTs with great activity and volume. We support artists with a more fairer fee structure.
8 The best wallet for managing your ADA
1. Daedalus
This is Cardano’s official desktop wallet developed by IOHK. This is a “complete node.” That is, it ejects a complete copy of the Cardano Blockchain, which offers maximum security and autonomy.
2. Yoroi
Developed by Emurgo is a “light” wallet that does not download the entire blockchain. It can be used as a browser extension or as a mobile application. Perfect for beginners and staking.
3. Etern
A light wallet that can be accessed from a browser or mobile, designed for active DEFI and NFTS users. In addition to wallet hardware compatibility, it also provides support for multiple accounts, staking, tokens and NFTs.
4. race
A light wallet created by IAG and stand for ADA purchases with staking, NFT, DAP and Fiat integrations. This allows you to create several accounts or wallets with a single recovery phrase. This makes it easier to organize assets and delegation.
5. ledger y safe
These are physical devices that store private keys offline and protect them from computer attacks. They are used in conjunction with software wallets such as Daedalus, Yoroi, and Eternl to send and receive transactions.
If you want to learn more about Cardan-related issues and blockchain, we also recommend reading and sharing these articles from Cryptopedia.
