Cardano (ADA) wallet

Cardano Wallet

While the blockchain space is incredibly complex and packed with viable assets, some continue to grow faster and more sustainably than others.

Take Cardano, for example, which has been a top-10 cryptocurrency by market capitalization virtually since its inception six years ago. Its price forecast is also incrediblybullish for the future as it continues to gain significant interest among traders and networks around the globe.

In this guide, we’ll look at the history and technology that underpins Cardano while demonstrating how you can store and manage your ADA tokens in the Atomic Cardano Wallet.

What is Cardano and the ADA Coin?

Cardano’s consistent and reliable growth has undoubtedly helped to establish it as one of the most stable crypto assets in the marketplace. At the same time, more recent developments have also driven immense hype in common social and chat platforms such as Discord and Reddit (we’ll touch on these a little later).

Cardano is also built on a wholly unique and first-of-its-kind blockchain technology, distinguishing itself by using core mathematical and scientific principles as part of its fundamental consensus mechanism. In simple terms, this creates a more secure technology that’s also infinitely scalable regarding the speed and volume of completed transactions.

Cardano Network

The Cardano network is founded on a unique multilayer architecture, which separates it from blockchains like Ethereum and helps to establish it as part of the next generation of crypto-backed solutions. This architecture clearly distinguishes between settlement (CSL) and computational layers (CCL), with the former serving as a unit of account where token holders can send and receive ADA coins (Cardano native assets) instantaneously. The CCL layer features a complete set of common blockchain protocols, which can help to underpin intuitive smart contracts, ensure high levels of security, and provide more advanced functions, such as identity recognition and blacklisting.

The functionality of Cardano is also centered on its proprietary ADA token, which is a digital coin that can be used to store value over time and to complete real-time transactions.

This token, named ‘ADA’ after Ada Lawrence (a 19th-century mathematician recognized as the world’s first computer programmer), mirrors other cryptocurrencies in that there is only a finite supply of coins. It’s estimated that a maximum of 45 billion ADA is available to users, with the current circulation thought to be more than 31 billion.

Overall, around 16% of the total ADA supply went to the project’s founders, with the remaining 84% being split amongst investors following the official Cardano launch and its year-long, $4 billion ICO.

A Brief History of Cardano Blockchain

Cardano was founded by mathematicians Charles Hoskinson and Jeremy Wood back in 2015, with the former also playing a key role in the development and launch of the Ethereum network. Hoskinson is also the CEO of IOHK, the company that built Cardano’s blockchain, and was awarded approximately 2.5 billion ADA immediately after the token launched.

Hoskinson’s roots in the cryptocurrency market can be traced back to 2011 when he initially dabbled in the mining and trading Bitcoin tokens. Two years later, he created a professional Bitcoin course that 80,000 students ultimately took as he took his first tentative steps into cryptocurrency entrepreneurship.

After spending six months as part of the Ethereum founding team, he left in June 2014 and began to develop the Cardano network shortly afterward. The network was officially launched in 2017, following the formation of IOHK and the creation of Cardano’s unique blockchain technology. At this time, Emurgo also proved to be a key partner in the development of the network, with this firm serving as a Japanese incubator that focuses on commercial ventures involving advanced blockchain technology.

Cardano Market Capitalization

The asset debuted with a market capitalization of $600 million, and by the end of 2017, this had increased to $10 billion. While it dropped from a high of $33 billion in January 2018 following a wider decline within the crypto marketplace, its unique premise and capacity to provide scale and speed in the sector have underpinned consistent and noticeable growth over time. So, although the asset’s market cap fell as low as $710 million in March of this year, it has since broken through the $11 billion barrier once again, while the value of the ADA token has also increased to $0.37075 in January.

Cardano Technology - The Pros and Cons

Upon its launch, Cardano’s ambitious goal was to empower “changemakers, innovators, and visionaries” to bring about positive global change while redistributing power from unaccountable structures to the margins and individuals.

While such objectives are commonplace amongst decentralized blockchain networks, Cardano is established as a ‘third generation’ platform that can resolve many of the fundamental issues associated with alternatives such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. This highlights the primary selling point of Cardano, as while second-generation networks sought to build on the digital payment systems created by the first, they did little to address the various inefficiencies that plagued tokens such as Bitcoin.

What issues does Cardano Foundation positively resolve?

Well, the mathematical and scientific foundation of the network automatically creates a demonstrably more secure blockchain that’s less susceptible to phishing attacks and instances of crypto-jacking.

Cardano’s processes ensure that the underlying technology and innovations go through a unique process of peer-reviewed research before being finalized, meaning that the founder’s core ideas are fully challenged and questioned beforethey’re implemented, resulting in increased stability and eliminating potential flaws ahead of time. This is best embodied by developing the network’s off-chain scalability protocol (Ouroboros Hydra), which underwent an intense peer-review process and took five years to validate.

What is Ouroboros Hydra

Finally announced on March 5th last year, this protocol was found to vastly increase scalability while lowering latency for the blockchain, using minimal storage on the network’s nodes. This success may well pave the way for an even wider range of applications in the near term, from micropayments to the creation of a secure voting mechanism and complex insurance contracts.

Interestingly, initial simulations by the University of Edinburgh show that each Hydra head can process up to 1,000 transactions per second, with the potential for further optimization. As a result, the protocol could ultimately scale more than Visa’s payment network, revolutionizing the financial market significantly.

Cardano Netword scalability

The Ouroboros Hydra protocol is another example of the network’s capability, especially from the perspective of transaction data speed and scalability. This issue has beleaguered Bitcoin as it has grown significantly, with transaction speeds running from 10 minutes to several days on the trail-blazing crypto platform. Transaction fees are also rising as more users join the movement, causing some to seek alternative market assets.

As we’ve already seen, the Ouroboros Hydra protocol can handle as many as 1,000 transactions per second, while introducing more heads into the network could increase this capacity even further over time. Some have even suggested that it could scale to more than one million transactions per second, comfortably eclipsing existing payment providers and allowing the network to grow exponentially in line with rising demand.

Cardano for Developers

Through separating accounting and computational layers (and developing a multilayered blockchain), subsequent apps and smart contracts can also be developed with increased modularity. More specifically, developers can leverage Cardano to implement the more formal semantics of programming languages completely intuitively, creating the potential for unique and highly secure agreements across a wide range of applications.

On a more fundamental level, Cardano is the first platform to use peer-reviewed, open-source code, which boasts high levels of security and minimal observable weaknesses. The code has undergone a similar testing process to the one applied to aircraft protocols, creating a more advanced and robust blockchain. Cardano is also one of the largest blockchains to successfully use a proof-of-stake (POS) consensus mechanism, which is far less energy-intensive than the proof-of-work algorithm utilized by Bitcoin. By staking, you're depositing your Cardano funds to the stake pool started by validators. It helps the Cardano blockchain to verify transactions and produce new blocks.

Price Fluctuations

Regarding potential disadvantages, it’s fair to say that the demand for Cardano ADA remained relatively low towards the end of 2020. This is reflected by the asset’s price, which has never peaked above $1.041851 (in January 2018) and continues to hover around the $0.352161 mark as of February 2021. This may change as a growing number of Cardano projects are implemented, but for now, it’s hindering the asset from the perspective of investors and adopters.

Blockchain for the community

The proposed introduction of a secure voting mechanism for token holders may also create challenges, particularly given the complexity of implemented blockchain features and how hard they can reverse. Under this type of transparent voting system, token holders would have a direct say in the future of blockchain and any proposed upgrades, regardless of their level of investment in the marketplace or their knowledge of how it operates. These elements and the relative lack of Cardano features compared to other crypto assets are genuine disadvantages that may hold the ADA token back in a fast-evolving and complicated market.

Key Perspectives and Takeaways

The perceived lack of Cardano projects is about to change relatively soon, which is probably why the price outlook for the Cardano (ADA) token remains so bullish and has been done ever since 2021 got underway. One of the most ambitious projects involves the launch of Cardano’s first stablecoin, which will be called AgeUSD.

This asset, which is set to be rolled out on ADA’s blockchain by the end of Q3 2021, is the result of a large-scale collaboration between IOHK, Emurgo, and Ergo and will be the first of its kind not to be pegged to a fiat currency. This type of endeavor undoubtedly highlights the immense potential of the Cardano (ADA) network, which is capable of revolutionizing the cryptocurrency space while also experiencing significant price growth over the next 12 months.

Significant Cardano Partnerships

Given that January 2021 has also seen Cardano announce high-profile partnerships with IBM and PriceWaterhouseCoopers (the latter of which takes the form of a protocol that generates a new commercial strategy for the professional services network), the growing hype surrounding this third-generation Cardano (ADA) network is more than justified as it continues to advance blockchain technology within mainstream commerce.

How to Store and Manage ADA

Despite its relatively modest price growth since the beginning of 2018, the ADA token continues to be widely traded across several different exchanges.

Now that the coin’s value is poised to soar on the back of innovative protocols and high-profile commercial partnerships, demand for ADA will likely increase rapidly within a relatively short time. You'll need a Cardano wallet to store your Cardano (ADA) assets. The crypto market provides dozens of different wallets, from hardware (physical devices) to hot wallets, where you can store multiple assets in one secure place. Cardano is supported by Atomic Cardano Wallet, enabling you to manage and swap ADA assets with complete anonymity and security in real time. Not only this, but you’ll be able to manage your ADA coins alongside more than 300 alternative tokens, including Ethereum, XRP, and Bitcoin.

Interestingly, you can also ‘stake’ or delegate your crypto assets to validators without incurring fees. Additionally, there exists the potential to earn rewards directly from validators through this process, with Cardano’s ADA currently offering an expected annual ROI of up to 5%.

Cardano (ADA) Private Keys

In Atomic, you get a private key for any asset, including your Cardano wallet. Private keys are strongly encrypted, stored locally, and never leave your device. You can also import your private key from another Cardano wallet to Atomic Cardano Wallet and easily migrate your crypto funds.

Do I need a hardware wallet for storing Cardano (ADA)?

To say shortly, a hardware wallet is a physical device that allows you to protect your ADA with additional security. Besides the most famous hot Cardano wallets, like Atomic Cardano Wallet, Exodus wallet, Yoroi wallet, Daedalus wallet, and many custodial wallets (exchanges), there are many hardware wallets for storing ADA. Some popular hardware wallets are Ledger Nano and Trezor model T. Their cost starts from 70$. Most experienced Cardano users prefer multiple wallets, like software wallets + hardware wallets. Regarding Atomic, a mnemonic seed phrase, provided to you on the first step of setup, makes it almost impossible to hack your Cardano assets once you keep the mnemonic safe. Additionally, your funds are always protected with your Cardano wallet password.

Is hardware wallets better than hot Cardano wallets?

Well, there's no term 'better' or 'worse.' While a hardware wallet costs money and can be stolen or lost, it provides an excellent option to store large funds. Conversely, it's not a suitable funds keeper for newbies, especially if you like to interact with your crypto often. It's much easier with an app on your mobile or desktop. As said before, the mnemonic seed phrase is a golden standard for protecting your funds from stealing. For most users, it's more than enough to feel safe about their crypto.

Best Cardano wallets

As discussed above, you can choose a Cardano Wallet from many good apps. You can install a node wallet to get a 'pro' feeling. Summing up, the best Cardano wallets are the ones that make you feel safe.

In Conclusion

Numerous things set Cardano apart from its rivals, from its peer-reviewed protocols and multilayer architecture to using open-source code to create more intuitive smart contracts. The immense scalability of the network also reflects its nature as a third-generation blockchain, as this tackles one of the main growing pains that have plagued platforms such as Bitcoin.

To choose the best Cardano wallet for your needs, decide your options. Atomic Cardano wallet is one of the most popular and trusted apps to manage ADA, which provides high security, Cardano staking, an instant swap feature, and many more. You can also Buy Cardano in the wallet's interface in just a few clicks.