Cardano ADA’s official description states that it is a proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain platform, developed for world leaders, revolutionaries, and visionaries. And Cardano ADA is the native token of this innovative blockchain; it’s a new type of digital currency, a means of transaction for everyone. And every Cardano ADA transaction is securely, transparently, and permanently stored on the Cardano blockchain.
Cardano (ADA): How It All Started?
Cardano ADA is a proof-of-stake blockchain focusing on peer-reviewed research for secure smart contracts and scalable decentralized apps. Its native cryptocurrency, ADA, allows staking, transactions, and governance participation.
The development of Cardano began in 2015 under Charles Hoskinson, a co-founder of Ethereum. It raised ICO funds worth $62 million by 2017. The Byron phase, Mainnet, launched on 29 September 2017, and then the Shelley phase in 2020, with decentralization. Then came Goguen in 2021, Alonzo for smart contracts, followed by Basho for scalability, and Voltaire for governance. Cardano’s roadmap showcases its academic agility over rapid scaling.
Every Cardano update and developments are sorted in eras; hard forks mark the transformation to a new era. Over Cardano’s overall history, the blockchain has gone through 10 most significant hard forks over seven eras.
To make it easier for you to understand, let me chronologically state the phases:
- Byron marks the introduction of the Cardano mainnet and the ADA cryptocurrency.
- Shelley, which launched features of decentralization and staking, also marks the transformation from a federated to a decentralized system.
- Allegra introduced token locking, which is a precondition for enabling smart contracts.
- Mary launched native token functionality. Now, users can generate and transact with custom tokens.
- Alonzo used Plutus to launch smart contract facilities. Enables decentralized applications or dApps.
- Lobster was launched on 22 October 2021.
- Vasil, named after Cardano community member Vasil Dabov, enhanced network performance and scalability.
- Valentine added new improvements to the Plutus smart contract and complete network performance.
- Chang, the first batch of decentralized governance capabilities, CIP-1694, initiates parameter changes and hard fork instigation.
- Plomin introduces the second batch of decentralized governance features in CIP-1694. Now, there’s a DRep role and a full set of governance actions.
The 7 Cardano ADA blockchain eras include Byron, Shelley, Allegra, Mary, Alonzo, Babbage, and Conway.
How to Buy Cardano?
Buying Cardano, especially in the USA, is a very straightforward process. Thanks to regulated exchanges that are compliant with FinCEN and state rules like the NY BitLicense. Some popularly used platforms include Kraken, Gemini, Coinbase, and Binance.US. These options offer security, low fees, and USD support.
Cardano Buying Guide (Step-By-Step)
- Choose the right exchange like Coinbase (beginner-friendly) or Kraken (advanced buying and staking). All these platforms support ADA/USD pairs and direct USD deposits.
- Create and verify accounts with all the necessary steps, like downloading the crypto app, adding your details, email, submitting KYC, etc. Your approval might come within days or months; this step is necessary as the US government has strict money-laundering guidelines.
- Deposit funds after linking banks. You can use debit or credit cards, Apple or Google Pay for this step.
- Now, to buy ADA, navigate to trade, search for ADA/USD, and enter the amount you want to buy, say, $100. Also, select a market or a limit order. Now review the fees and confirm the order. Once done, ADA appears instantly.
- Once bought, transfer the ADA to your personal wallet for maximum security. As per preference, you can use a hot or cold wallet for that. But do not leave on the exchange as it comes with potential risks.
- Finally, keep staking and monitoring ADA. You can use CoinMarketCap or other popular exchange apps for regular tracking.
Cardano (ADA) Price: Today’s Latest
According to CoinMarketCap, Cardano ADA’s price on 10 February 2026 is $0.2654, which is down by 2.54% in the last 24 hours. Currently, the market cap is at $9.57 billion (down by 2.55%). ADA has a 24-hour range of $0.260 to $0.273 and trading volume of around $1 billion. The market cap is at roughly $10.3 billion (ranking at 13), and the circulating supply is around $38.4 billion of the total $45 billion.
Looking at the historical data,
Cardano ADA’s all-time high was on 2 September 2024, 4 years ago, at $3.10.
And, the all-time low was on 2 October 2017, 8 years ago, at $0.01735. Since then, this cryptocurrency has increased by around 1435.03%.
Related: 10 Major Cryptocurrency Hacks in History: Biggest Crypto Hacks
What is Cardano Used For?
The Cardano blockchain has impactful real-world use cases, and some of them are:
- In education, the Cardano blockchain can be used for academic credentials verification.
- It can also be used for digital identity security, storage, and transparency.
- In finance KYC, it can be used for identity verification.
- In the government or public sector, Cardano can be used to tamper-proof official documents.
- It can be used in decentralized lending and exchanges (DeFi).
- Also, in payments for quicker, cross-border, and cost-effective transfers.
- It can be useful in supply chain management in sectors like agriculture, retail, and logistics to track, trace, and combat counterfeit products.
- Cardano can be utilized in social programs to track the transparency of fund transfers.
- In data and technology, it can be used for secure and decentralized data storage, and also in tokenized assets.
- Also, the Cardano blockchain has applications in emerging technologies like voting systems, healthcare, music, and IP.
Real-Life Examples of Cardano Blockchain Use Cases:
1. Quartz Publication stated that the Cardano blockchain can be used to help citizens of Burundi, Ethiopia, and Zanzibar get access to digital IDs.
2. Cardano creator Hoskinson worked with electronic dance music DJ Paul Oakenfold in 2021 to release the Zombie Lobster album on the blockchain.
Cardano Vs. Bitcoin
The general aim of Cardano is to develop a blockchain ecosystem that developers can utilize to create dApps, tokens, or any other uses that a scalable blockchain network can support. On the other hand, Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer developed payment system whose PoW relies on cryptocurrency mining.
Here is an overview table that will explain the difference between the two much more simply:
| Features | Cardano ADA | Bitcoin BTC |
|---|---|---|
| Energy Use | Energy-efficient, low | High energy use, industry-scale |
| Consensus | Proof-of-Stake, Ouroboros | Proof-of-Work |
| Purpose | DeFi, dApps, governance, smart contracts | Payments, store of values |
| TPS | Over 250 | Between 3 and 7 |
| Smart Contracts | Plutus, native | Limited scripting |
| Maximum Supply | 45 billion | 21 billion |
| Architecture | CSL, CCL (layered) | UTXO (single-layered) |
| Fees | Less (around $0.02), predictable | Very high during congestion (around $1-10), variable |
| First Introduced | 2017 | 2009 |
| Governance | Voltaire, on-chain voting | Informal, by the community or miners |
Cardano Vs. Ethereum
Both Cardano and Ethereum are leading blockchain platforms in 2026. But they do differ in aspects like design, approach to scalability, and maturity of the ecosystem. Some of the most strikingly distinctive areas are described below:
Core Architecture
Cardano uses an extensive UTXO (eUTXO) model, which enables local state transactions for predictability, lower congestion risks, and parallel processing. This structure eludes Ethereum’s global account-based state bloat that results in high gas fees during hikes.
Ethereum’s model can handle complicated interactions, but it can lead to bottlenecks. Ethereum’s rollups, like Optimism, mitigate this via Layer 2.
Smart Contract & Development
Ethereum’s Solidity and EVM-standard vast tooling hosts over 80% of DeFi TVL (approx. $100 billion) with mature dApps. Cardano’s Haskell-supported Plutus offers formal proofs of bug-free contracts, but with lower adoption, with TVL around $500 million.
Performance & Scalability
Ethereum processes approximately 15 to 30 TPS base, scaling to over 100K via L2s. Whereas Cardano hits around 250 TPS, targeting 1 million with Hydra. Cardano’s layered design, CCL for computation and CSL for settlement, offers independent upgrades without forks.
Cardano Prediction: What Does the Future Hold?
Cardano is developed in ‘phases’ and named after historical poets and scientists, like Voltaire, Byron, Shelley, and Basho. In January 2025, Cardano’s last era, Voltaire, was finalized. It is a self-sustaining system in which blockchain participants can manage voting, treasury management, and proposals. It will be a more inclusive and autonomous system.
According to Cardano’s roadmap, “this new era of governance will be driven by the community for the community.” In a whiteboard video, Hoskinson, CEO of Input|Output (IO), states that the roadmap of Cardano will be based on a transparent and ambitious vision for blockchain technology’s future. The major focus will be on 3 things:
- Scalability
- Usability and Utility
- Interoperability and Extensibility
Related: Is Bitcoin Traceable? What Does ‘Traceable’ Means In Bitcoin?
FAQs
Is Cardano (ADA) a Good Investment?
If you are looking into the crypto market, Cardano might be a good option. But it completely depends on your perspective about crypto investments, market outlook, and other such driving factors.
Can ADA Reach $10?
As of now, it is impossible to predict ADA’s future price as the entire crypto market is highly volatile and is influenced by multiple factors.
Does ADA Still Have a Future?
Cardano is still in the development process, so there’s no long-term prediction. But, since it is maintained well and has potential, Cardano can be a good short-term consideration.
What is Cardano’s Price Today?
CoinMarketCap shows that Cardano ADA is $0.2654 on 10 February 2026, which is down by 2.54% in the last 24 hours.
Which Crypto Network Introduced Cardano ADA?
Ethereum’s co-founder, Charles Hoskinson, partnered with Jeremy Wood to launch Input Output Global (formerly known as IOHK) in 2015, the company behind Cardano’s development.