Cardano ADA

Problem With Existing Blockchains

Over the years, the cryptocurrency space has witnessed an explosion in the number of projects and tokens available for investment, resulting in a large number of competing networks. The presence of so many cryptocurrencies makes it difficult for users to find the one that suits them best for their needs. Since there is no universal agreement or single best practice in regards to which cryptocurrencies are considered to be best for specific use cases, users are forced to make a difficult choice between the many different platforms when they want to conduct a specific type of transaction.

Further, the increasing number of cryptocurrencies and the lack of interoperability between them means that users can't easily transact between different blockchains. For instance, if you want to buy some ADA with your BTC, you might have to sell your BTC on another platform and then transfer the funds to the Cardano network. While this may be a convenient option for the average user, it is undoubtedly complex and less than ideal. The existence of so many different blockchains also makes it difficult for exchanges and other third-party service providers to offer the best service possible to their customers, considering the amount of complexity involved in ordering and handling multiple transactions on various platforms.

What Is Cardano (ADA)?

Cardano is one of the largest and most prominent cryptocurrencies in the market, currently ranked 8th on the CoinMarketCap list of cryptocurrencies with a market cap of over $14 billion. The project was originally proposed in 2017 by a team of Italian and German computer scientists and started as an open-source software project in 2016. While Cardano's primary focus is on finance and smart contract functionality, the project also hosts some of the most recognizable faces in the crypto community, including Donald Trump's economic advisor Peter Thiel and former Facebook employee and early cryptocurrency adopter David Lee. Additionally, Cardano is one of the few projects that offer users the ability to mine the coin, which involves solving complex mathematical puzzles and makes up a small portion of the total supply.

A Decentralized Digital Wallet Solution

The main purpose of Cardano is to provide a user-friendly, easy-to-use and safe solution for storing and transferring value. Since the majority of cryptocurrencies and blockchain projects are designed for specialized applications, the Cardano team set out to create a platform that can seamlessly operate in any environment, be it a conventional bank account or wallet service. For this reason, Cardano is often described as the “Merchant Wallet” of cryptocurrencies, since it was designed to function as a digital wallet for both storing value as well as making financial transactions with other users on the network. Additionally, Cardano is one of the few currencies that offer users the ability to create encrypted “off-chain” transactions, meaning that the actual transfers happen outside of the blockchain. This prevents the need for users to leave the system or transact on other networks to make a purchase. The ability to run off-chain transactions makes it much easier for users to send and receive money without having to leave the system.

A Revolutionary Approach To Scalability

One of the fundamental problems that has plagued crypto markets is scalability. Due to the exponential increase in popularity and user base, many popular cryptocurrencies reach their maximum capacity well before the end of 2018. While some projects have implemented solutions such as sharding and sidechains to scale their networks, Cardano took a different route, focusing on scalability through increased efficiency and the use of cutting edge technology. In fact, Cardano is one of the few projects that provide users a feasible way to store and transfer an entire universe of data, while remaining secure and anonymous. The Cardano team set out to create a blockchain capable of processing a massive amount of transactions in a short amount of time. The project's roadmap includes the creation of Cardano's third generation, or Byron, which will purportedly be able to handle up to 1.9 billion transactions per day (!), approximately 20 times the current Bitcoin capacity.

Smart Contracts For All Of Business

Another unique selling point of Cardano is its smart contract capabilities. Not only does Cardano allow for the creation of sophisticated contracts that are secure and irreversible, but it also provides a solid framework for developers to create their own decentralized applications (dApps) on the platform, with the help of some clever code. Smart contracts are agreements between two or more parties that are enforced and verified through cryptography, meaning that they are completely immutable and transparent. As the name would suggest, smart contracts are used to execute a contract or a program, with all the advantages that this brings. For example, smart contracts allow for the creation of dispute resolution systems and automated payment setups, among many other things. Additionally, smart contracts provide the ability for businesses to conduct all of their financial transactions digitally, removing the need for intermediaries such as banks.

Due to the revolutionary nature of smart contracts and the fact that Cardano is one of the only projects to implement them, this feature alone could make it worth considering for investors looking for a long-term holding.

Cardano Is Highly Scalable, Secure, And Has A Wide Range Of Developers

If you are looking for a cryptocurrency that is highly scalable, secure, and has a developed community of developers, then you should look no further than Cardano. The above sections should give you a good idea of what makes the project unique and special, as well as why investors might want to consider it for their portfolio. Additionally, Cardano's official website lists some of the project's unique features, the majority of which relate to security and scalability, as well as some of the teams involved in its development. For example, the project is open source, which means that its code is available to the public for review and improvement.

The Cardano project prides itself on being “open-source friendly” and “innovative”, and these two traits are reflected in most of the project's unique features. Additionally, the Cardano white paper outlines an “auditor system”, which serves as the project's independent verification system. The objective is to maintain the integrity of the network by identifying and punishing bad actors. The paper also goes into detail about the project's security measures, explaining how Cardano is designed to achieve “unbreachable” security. Furthermore, the Bitcoin and Ethereum networks are susceptible to attacks from hackers, with the latter suffering a record-breaking breach in June 2018. To protect against these types of cyberattacks, Cardano implements a range of secure features including “state synchronization”, “multisignature accounts”, and “Merkle Trees”, which are all explained in the whitepaper. Finally, one of the main reasons why Cardano is so attractive to developers is its willingness to embrace and adopt new technologies, as well as the project's open-source nature. This means that if you know how to program, you can contribute to the project's development and implementation of new features, as mentioned above.

Where Can I Spend My ADA?

Since Cardano is a cryptocurrency that was designed to be spent on online transactions, shopping with it is easy and hassle-free. Exchanges that support the cryptocurrency regularly offer trading pairs such as BTC/ADA and ETH/ADA, which makes it simpler for users to acquire ADA with the currencies that they already use. Additionally, many merchants and online shops that accept cryptocurrency payments also accept ADA, so users can enjoy the benefits of this innovative new technology without having to resort to expensive and time-consuming checks.

The Downsides To Consider

While there are a number of advantages to investing in Cardano, there are also some significant shortcomings that users should consider before they join the hype train. First off, much like other leading cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and EOS, Cardano's price is highly volatile and unpredictable. This is mainly due to the fact that Cardano has a very limited supply compared to other leading cryptocurrencies. Additionally, as mentioned above, much of Cardano's value is derived from its popularity among cryptocurrency enthusiasts and early adopters. So, like most other popular cryptocurrencies, Cardano is not a very good investment if you are looking for a steady stream of income. Last but not least, much like other cryptocurrencies, the popularity of Cardano among traders and holders is causing the coin's value to be increasingly concentrated in a few big-name and influential hands. If you are looking for a sound investment that is not controlled by a small group of individuals, then you should probably look elsewhere, as there is no way to guarantee the safety of your capital when dealing with anonymous entities.