What is Cardano
Cardano is a cryptocurrency released on a blockchain built from scratch, operating on a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) algorithm, designed for the development of smart contracts and the creation of full-fledged decentralized applications (dApps). Among the project's goals are: improving network scalability, compatibility, and resilience for the effective operation of dApps.
Project representatives claim that it adheres to the principles of openness and transparency. All research and technical specifications related to Cardano are available to the public.
The history of the creation of Cardano
The project was founded by former Ethereum developers — Charles Hoskinson and Jeremy Wood. In 2014, they disagreed with the direction of Ethereum's development, so they started their own venture.
In 2015, Hoskinson and Wood founded Input Output Hong Kong (IOHK), which began developing Cardano. Later, as is often the case with the creation of such projects, a non-profit organization called Cardano Foundation was launched. The internal cryptocurrency ADA, which is used in the Cardano network, was named after the first programmer in history, Ada Lovelace.
On September 29, 2017, Cardano was officially launched. Trading of the token began a few days later on October 1. Since then, the cryptocurrency has increased in price by 2342%, although it is currently trading significantly below historical highs — at $0.4 compared to the peak of $3.1 set in the fall of 2021.
What is the Cardano (ADA) roadmap?
The Cardano roadmap is a development plan for the project, divided into five eras: 'Byron', 'Shelley', 'Goguen', 'Basho', and 'Voltaire'. Each era corresponds to specific functional capabilities. Although the eras proceed sequentially, work on each of them is done in parallel — research and development often happen simultaneously.
The architecture of the Cardano blockchain
The Cardano blockchain is highly modular. It includes the following components:
● Node
● Command Line Interface (CLI)
● Cardano Wallet
● Cardano db-sync
● GraphQL API Server (Apollo)
● SMASH server