Cardano is a multi-layered blockchain run by a non-profit foundation made up of scientists from around the world, which includes the University of Edinburgh and the Institute of Technology in Tokyo, Japan.

Cardano markets itself as a third-generation blockchain platform. Bitcoin is first generation. Second generation is Ethereum, this scales capabilities which introduces smart contract concepts. Cardano is even more ambitious. 

Cardano has different layers to perform different functions. These include one for software applications (DApps). One for distributed computing, and, finally, one for financial transactions & settlements where Cardano’s currency ‘ADA’ is used to settle transactions.

Why does Cardano (ADA) have value?

Like many projects - Cardano wants to be the world’s top smart contract platform. Using a secure, proof-of-stake algorithm (named Ouroboros), Cardano eliminates the need for an energy-consuming protocol and claims to solve scalability issues. 

Cardano has a lofty goal of creating interoperability between its blockchain and the financial ecosystem - much like XRP & XLM.

How much Cardano (ADA) is worth on the open market?

Cardano has 25,927,070,538 ADA tokens on the market, with a total supply of 145,000,000,000.

What are the disadvantages of Cardano (ADA)

The competition: Cardano isn’t the first ‘Ethereum killer’. EOS has made huge strides forward in scaling its blockchain and forming partnerships over the past year. Is Cardano unique enough to beat such strong competition? 

Transaction speed: Ripple and Stellar Lumens can process more than 1,000 transactions per second (TPS) hence their partnerships with Santander & IBM respectively. Cardano only offers 257 transactions per second. 

Cardano infrastructure:  The Proof of Stake algorithm is said to be flawed by a problem known as «nothing at stake». This issue highlights the problem that voting on a particular version of a proof of stake blockchain requires no resources, unlike the labor-intensive PoW model. Cardano is still a relatively unproven project that has not been tested in the way Ethereum has.

What are the advantages of Cardano (ADA)

Third generation: Cardano was specifically created to offer the same functionality as second-generation platforms but without the scaling issues. 

Privacy: Many users favor privacy in the current climate, yet few cryptos provide it. Cardano does. The privacy of its transactions is guaranteed since it can be executed without metadata.