Cardano is a fast-growing blockchain network developed by an Ethereum co-founder. With a current market cap of around $38 billion, it is one of the most highly valued cryptocurrencies on the market. If you can see the potential in cryptocurrency, you must know how to use Bitcoin payment for services and goods.
ADA is the network’s native digital currency. It has recorded significant growth in recent years. Cardano tokens can be purchased or sold using dollars or used to make payments against services on the network. ADA is also seen as an investment by many buyers. As the technology gains more popularity, it is expected that digital currency will gain in value. At the same time, investing in Cardano also comes with a lot of risks.
So, what is Cardano? How does the blockchain network work? What are the latest developments around it? Find out here.
What is Cardano?
Cardano is a decentralized proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain network designed to provide an efficient alternative to proof-of-work (PoW) platforms. PoW platforms such as Ethereum have sustainability, scalability, and interoperability limited by the following factors affecting the infrastructure:
- Energy usage
- Increasing costs
- Slow transaction times
In 2015, Charles Hoskinson, co-founder of Ethereum, realized these challenges and started the development of Cardano and its main digital token, ADA. The token was completed in 2017.
Some of the key features of this network are as follows:
- The network runs on the Ouroboros consensus protocol
- Ouroboros was developed during the foundation stage of Cardano
- It is the first PoS protocol that has been proven for its security and is backed by academic research
Cardano’s coin, the ADA, is currently valued at around $1.30 and has gained over 300% in 1 year.
Cardano’s Native Token
The Cardano blockchain, in March 2021, began creating native tokens. Similar to Ethereum tokens that include stablecoins or NFTs, these native coins can be created and distributed on Cardano’s blockchain. They can also interact with smart contracts.
However, Cardano native tokens are not created through a smart contract. They run on the same system as the ADA. The native architecture increases security and lowers transaction fees.
Cardano Plants 1 Million Trees
There is more to the Cardano blockchain than transactions. The Cardano Foundation is engaged in ecosystem and land restoration activities using the blockchain. Recently, the effort helped the foundation achieve the feat of completing 1 million tree plantations.
The Cardano Foundation is a non-profit that overlooks developments on the network. The project is known as Cardano Forest and is fully funded. Every tree will get recorded on the blockchain to improve transparency and serve as proof of the foundation’s land restoration efforts.
How Does the Blockchain Connect with the Cardano Forest?
The Cardano Foundation has partnered with Veritree, a cryptocurrency startup, to help with its tree plantation effort. Veritree relies on blockchain technology to maintain a record of the supply chain of the plantations for users. It has a system for tracking and verifying the activity.
Veritree will plant a tree whenever an ADA gets exchanged for a TREE token. The TREE can be redeemed for NFTs and digital trees on specific days known as ‘redemption days’.
NFTs represent ownership of unique items on a blockchain. These items can be both tangible and intangible. Transaction data proves that a large volume of ADA has been used for the plantation effort. While some large donors exchanged 5,000 to 87,500 ADA coins for planting trees, the largest transaction was of 100,000 ADA worth $118,000. It contributed to the planation of 100,000 trees.
The Climate-Positive Blockchain
Through the Cardano Forest activity, the foundation wants to make its platform a climate-positive blockchain. This is reasonable considering that blockchain technology has recently been at the center of attention for its significant environmental impact.
Blockchains rely on a global network of users that run computing resources in the form of mining rigs and crypto staking systems. Mining specifically involves the use of energy-intensive computing systems for solving millions of calculations per second to earn blocks. There is a significant investment in electrical power to maintain these resources.
Newer platforms such as Cardano, Terra, and Cosmos use the proof-of-stake concept. This is considered to be an eco-friendlier form of processing than mining.
The ethos behind Cardano’s environment-friendly activity seems to be simple. With a market cap of $38 billion and the support for a good cause, Cardano seems to have a lot of potential for growth. Having gained over 300% in just 1 year, Cardano seems to be well on its path to becoming an important investment crypto option.
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