Cardano is a blockchain platform that supports the cryptocurrency Ada, with one Ada divisible into 1,000,000 lovelaces (named after Ada Lovelace). Development of Cardano began in 2015 under the leadership of Charles Hoskinson, a co-founder of Ethereum who left the project following a disagreement with Vitalik Buterin over its future structure. Hoskinson favored venture capital funding and a for-profit model, while Buterin insisted on keeping Ethereum a nonprofit initiative. Cardano is governed by three main entities: IOHK, an engineering company focused on blockchain solutions for governments, corporations, and academia; the Cardano Foundation, which promotes and standardizes the ecosystem; and Emurgo, which develops commercial applications. Launched in 2017, Cardano became the largest cryptocurrency at the time to use a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism, considered more environmentally friendly than the energy-intensive proof-of-work systems like Bitcoin’s. It integrates the Ouroboros protocol—co-developed with cryptographer Aggelos Kiayias—which was the first PoS protocol proven to be secure. Advanced iterations like Ouroboros Hydra employ off-chain state channels, or “heads,” as part of a layer-2 scaling solution capable of processing up to 1,000 transactions per second per head. Cardano thus positions itself as a faster, safer, and more scalable alternative to both Bitcoin and Ethereum
