<!-- Note: The following pages were redirects to [[Cardano_(cryptocurrency_platform)]] before draftification:
*[[Cardano (platform)]]
*[[Cardano (cryptocurrency)]]
*[[Ada (cryptocurrency)]]
-->
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2018}}
{{Infobox cryptocurrency
| currency_name = Cardano
| image_1 = [[File:Cardano Logo.jpg|Cardano platform logo|124px]]
| image_2 = [[File:Coin-ada-big.svg|Ada cryptocurrency logo|60px]]
| image_title_1 = Cardano platform logo
| image_width_1 =
| image_title_2 = Ada cryptocurrency logo
| image_width_2 =
| subunit_ratio_1 = {{frac|1000000}}
| subunit_name_1 = Lovelace
| subunit_ratio_2 =
| subunit_name_2 =
| precision =
| symbol = ₳
| ticker_symbol =
| coin_definition =
| implementations =
| initial_release_version =
| initial_release_date =
| code_repository =
| status =
| latest_release_version =
| latest_release_date =
| forked_from =
| programming_languages =
| operating_system =
| author =
| developer =
| source_model =
| license =
| website = {{URL|https://help.cardano.org/english|cardano.org}}
| block_explorer =
| ledger_genesis =
| hash_function =
| circulating_supply =
| supply_limit =
| exchange_rate =
| market_cap =
| issuance =
| timestamping =
| block_time =
| block_reward =
| footnotes = {{notelist|group=infobox}}
}}

'''Cardano''' is a [[Blockchain#Types_of_blockchains|public blockchain]] platform which runs [[smart contracts]]. The software for this [[distributed computing]] platform is [[open source]].<ref name="CardanoGeneral">{{cite web |title=Cardano: a rising cryptocurrency |url=https://mashable.com/2018/02/24/cardano-hoskinson-interview/?europe=true#M7WXfcgYIkq2 |website=[[Mashable]] |date=24 February 2018 |accessdate=25 December 2018 |quote=Cardano claims it will solve most of the issues that plague well-established cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum}}</ref>

==Background==
It started in 2015 and was launched in 2017 by the co-founder of [[Ethereum]] and [[BitShares]] Charles Hoskinson.<ref name="EthereumCo-founder">{{cite web |title=ICOs explained |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2017/10/05/how-icos-setting-the-vc-world-ablaze-work.html |website=[[CNBC]] |date=6 October 2017 |accessdate=25 December 2018 |quote="ethereum co-founder Charles Hoskinson says it has become increasingly more challenging to regulate this new asset class" and "ICO market could crash"}}</ref> Developments are scientificly studied and peer-reviewed.<ref name="Eurocrypt">{{cite web |title=Ouroboros at Eurorypt 2018 |url=https://www.nasdaq.com/article/blockchain-takes-the-stage-at-flagship-cryptography-conference-in-israel-cm957318 |website=[[Nasdaq]] |date= 2 May 2018 |accessdate=25 December 2018 |quote=Only one in five papers that are submitted get accepted after going through a months-long, peer-review process, where experts in the field scrutinize the work to determine its suitability for the conference}}</ref><ref name="FormalVerification">{{cite web |title=Formal Design, Implementation and Verification of Blockchain Languages |url=https://experts.illinois.edu/en/publications/formal-design-implementation-and-verification-of-blockchain-langu |website=International Conference on Formal Structures for  Computation and Deduction (FSCD) |publisher=Grigore Rosu |date=1 July 2018 |accessdate=25 December 2018 |quote="a testnet on Cardano in Summer 2018 to test this hypothesis in a real-world setting" and "One of the major lessons we learned during the EVM formalization effort was that EVM can be improved along various dimensions, improvements that could make both implementations and smart contract verification easier and faster. Instead of doing so, we preferred to design and implement a new virtual machine, IELE"}}</ref><ref name="FT">{{cite web |title=Blockchain believers hold fast to a utopian vision |url=https://www.ft.com/content/a12d7476-bc6a-11e6-8b45-b8b81dd5d080 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181219171156/https://www.ft.com/content/a12d7476-bc6a-11e6-8b45-b8b81dd5d080 |website=[[Financial Times]] |archive-date=19 December 2018 |date=27 January 2018 |accessdate=25 December 2018 |quote="A mathematician, Mr Hoskinson believes blockchain has the potential to reduce society’s need for banks" and "working with a global group of academics" and "freely available online for other developers to use."}}</ref> The Ada cryptocurrency could first only be held in their [[Cryptocurrency_wallet#Software_wallet|full node cryptocurrency wallet]]
and on the [[Bittrex]] exchange, but currently there are more to choose from. The platform is named after [[Gerolamo Cardano]] and the cryptocurrency after [[Ada Lovelace]].

==Layers==
Within the Cardano platform Ada lives on the settlement layer. This layer is similar to [[Bitcoin]] and essentially only keeps track the Ada transactions. The second layer is the computation layer. This layer is similar to Ethereum and enables smart contracts and applications to run on the platform.<ref name="CardanoGeneral"/>

==Non-functionals==
Besides the first and second layer functionalities Cardano focuses on the [[Non-functional requirement|non-functional requirements]] scalability, sustainability and interoperability. The fundament of their scalability is the seperation of the settlement and computation layer and their [[proof of stake]] technology.<ref name="OuroborosReview">{{cite web |title=Ouroboros Genesis: Composable Proof-of-Stake Blockchains with Dynamic Availability (the paper)|url=https://www.research.ed.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/ouroboros-genesis-composable-proofofstake-blockchains-with-dynamic-availability(7f97233f-23d4-4568-87bc-254875f7a34c).html |website=[[Association for Computing Machinery]] Special Interest Group Security Audit and Control (ACM SIGSAC) |date= 15 October 2018 |accessdate=25 December 2018 |quote=which is implemented as part of the Cardano blockchain}}</ref> Sustainability is achieved by using a decentralised treasury system which is funded by newly minted coins and transaction cost on the network. Currently it is being funded by the [[initial coin offering]]. Development proposals and the implementation can be voted on and thus are decentrialized controlled by the stakeholders (Ada coinholders). After the decentrialized phase not even the current developpers can make changes without being voted on. The support of interoperability between existing cryptocurrencies is important in a mixed technology landscape. Sidechains is a technology used where tokens can move around (other) blockchains and enables interoperability with the financial systems of banks.<ref name="Privacy-regulation">{{cite web |title=Bitcoin’s Smaller Cousins |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-20/baby-altcoins-leading-crypto-rally-as-bitcoin-goes-mainstream |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180626223516/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-20/baby-altcoins-leading-crypto-rally-as-bitcoin-goes-mainstream |website=[[Bloomberg L.P.]] |archive-date=26 June 2018 |date=20 December 2017 |accessdate=25 December 2018 |quote=Cardano, backed by the Zug, Switzerland-based Cardano Foundation, is a decentralized public blockchain that aims to protect user privacy, while also allowing for regulation}}</ref><ref name="Sidechains">{{cite web |title=Sidechains: Why These Researchers Think They Solved a Key Piece of the Puzzle |url=https://bitcoinmagazine.com/articles/sidechains-why-these-researchers-think-they-solved-key-piece-puzzle/ |website=[[Bitcoin Magazine]] |date= 19 February 2018 |accessdate=25 December 2018 |quote=move tokens across blockchains and, as a result, open the doors to a world of possibilities, including building bridges to the legacy financial systems of banks}}</ref>

==Proof of stake==
As an alternative to a power consuming [[proof of work system]], Cardano uses their own proof of stake technology to protect their blockchain against abuse. With Bitcoin the genesis block (first blockchain entry) and the longest chain (chain with the most compute power) is used to determine the honest chain. With Cardano also ''only'' the genesis block is needed whereafter the honest chain is mathematically proven locally without the need of a trusted party.<ref name="Eurocrypt"/>

==Development==
Several development environments are created by [[Comparison of programming_paradigms|functional programming]]. Also non-programmers can create smart contracts, because one of the [[domain-specific language|domain-specific languages]] is a [[low-code development platform]]. Smart contracts made in [[Solidity]] for the [[Ethereum Virtual Machine]] can be translated with a [[compiler]] and thus also run on the Cardano Virtual Machine.<ref name="Kframework">{{cite web |title=Will that smart contract really do what you expect it to do? |url=https://repository.tudelft.nl/view/tno/uuid:d3d7c34d-a119-480e-a987-963d317cc5f2 |website=[[Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research]] |date= January 2018 |accessdate=25 December 2018 |quote=the KEVM project also started from the semi-formal yellow paper to create an executable and human readable model of reference semantics for EVM programs. It uses the K framework, which is a rewrite-based executable semantic framework.}}</ref><ref name="EthiopiaGov">{{cite web |title=IOHK Addis Blockchain Developer Training: January 8th - March 24th 2019 |url=http://www.most.gov.et/training |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181208200838/http://www.most.gov.et/training |website=[[Ministry of Innovation and Technology (Ethiopia)]] |archive-date=8 December 2018 |date=2018 |accessdate=25 December 2018 |quote=In recognition of the government's efforts to promote gender diversity in technology, the intake for this first course will be all women. Subsequent training courses and job opportunities will be open to all.}}</ref><ref name="Sankei_Shimbun">{{ja}}{{cite web |title=IOHK launched a secure smart contract technology |url=https://www.sankeibiz.jp/business/news/181211/prl1812111802170-n1.htm |website=[[Sankei Shimbun]] |date=11 December 2018 |accessdate=28 December 2018 |quote=Scholars, business experts and developers participated and released the test format of Plutus and Marlowe at the first public event "PlutusFest Conference" held in Edinburgh, Scotland}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Cryptocurrencies|state=collapsed}}

[[:Category:Alternative currencies]]
[[:Category:Blockchains]]
[[:Category:Cross-platform software]]
[[:Category:Cryptocurrencies]]