This article will talk about the next big thing in cryptocurrency, Cardano. For those new to Cardano, we will learn what Cardano is, how Cardano is different from other blockchain technologies, and finally, the future of Cardano’s ADA coins.
Cardano is a decentralized blockchain platform launched in 2017 by Charles Hoskinson, the co-founder of Ethereum. Cardano was conceptualized as an alternative to Ethereum and is based on a third-generation Proof of Stake (POS) network. As an investor, you can now buy Cardano coins in India.
How is Cardano Different from Other Blockchain Technologies?
Cardano’s biggest differentiating factor is that it is considered the fastest cryptocurrency. Cardano has touched over 250 Transactions Per Second (TPS), while Ethereum maxes out at 10 TPS. This means that more mining can happen in less time, leading to lower electricity use and optimal fossil fuel use. This brings us to our second differentiating factor – environment friendly. Since Cardano transacts at a faster speed, it makes Cardano environment friendly. With the ongoing global power shortage, Cardano’s effective use of electricity is a silver lining for every crypto enthusiast.
In addition to the above, Cardano’s speed makes it a scalable technology compared to other blockchain networks. Finally, previous blockchain networks ran on a Proof of Work (PoW) system, which has come under severe scrutiny in the past due to its energy use and environmental impact. However, Cardano, which runs on a third generation blockchain network, runs on Proof of System (PoS) which addresses all the energy and environmental issues. Let us understand this with an example.
Miners previously used large amounts of electricity to solve puzzles to get blocks as rewards. However, with Cardano’s PoS network, miners must stake their crypto to be eligible to get blocks as rewards. The platform then chooses a few top miners for authenticating transactions. Thus, the amount of energy and time required is considerably less.
This means that more mining can happen in less time, leading to lower electricity use and optimal fossil fuel use. Now, let us understand how to trade on a coin based on Cardano’s blockchain network.
What is an ADA Coin?
In the Cardano blockchain, the native currency is ADA coin, which is used to perform transactions. ADA coin’s price touched an all-time high of $3.09 in September 2021 and has moved from $0.04 cents to $2.4 over three years. Since its inception, the ADA coin has given a staggering return of 5900%.
The Future of Cardano
Altcoins, an alternative to bitcoins, have been rising lately as individual investors pile back into cryptocurrencies. Cardano’s Ada coin emerged as a recent favourite in the lot.
As a third-generation blockchain, Cardano offers a settlement layer like Bitcoin (for transactions) and a computation layer like Ethereum (for smart contracts and decentralized apps). However, in September 2021, a major upgrade, ‘Alonzo’, was made on Cardano main net, enabling smart contract and decentralized finance (DeFi) functionality. Before this, Cardano was seen merely as hype since its smart contract functionality was promised but took four years to become a reality.
Cardano will soon launch its layer-2 scalability, Hydra, which is rumoured to accelerate transactions on Cardano to over 1 million per second. Finally, there could emerge a fourth-generation blockchain that performs even better than Cardano. In that case, the Charles Hoskin platform will have to make modifications to the platform to come out on top.
Cryptocurrency exchanges in India are witnessing an uptake in Cardano as investors are buying Cardano coins in significant quantities in India.
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