Market
Problem that it solves
Cardano has its sights set on a few key problematic elements of the world of crypto: scalability, the ease of exchange, and ease of production, and it seems to be making progress.
Customers
Cardano’s customers are a diverse group, and they could continue to grow. In addition to its coin, ADA, it is setting up networks that provide access to financial services to areas of the world that are currently kept on the sidelines.
Value creation
Cardano’s value lies solely in the problems it’s seeking to solve. A successful suite of solutions that allow for thousands of transactions a second across multiple networks in communities worldwide creates significant value.
Market structure
Cardano seeks to create new opportunities for several different markets that range from peer-to-peer buyers and sellers to institutional players and everything in between. The structure of the market will, ultimately, depend on how successful Cardano is as it seeks to connect different groups of people. So far, it seems to be working.
Market size
Any business looking to develop blockchain solutions could become a client of Cardano.
Regulatory risks
While it’s virtually impossible to completely eliminate the risk of regulation, Cardano has taken the right steps. It uses a democratic system and is poised to evolve with the input of a large number of players. This takes the power out of the hands of the few, making Cardano less of a threat to regulatory bodies.
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Competitive Advantage
Technology/blockchain platform
Cardano is built on existing blockchain concepts, yet employs a few new features. It uses proof of stake (PoS) instead of proof of work (PoW) and has separated accounting so it’s not intertwined with other operations that happen on the blockchain.
Lead time advantage
Cardano’s principals are taking lessons learned from examining other cryptos and using them to make something they feel is better. The size, talent and background of the team gives it an advantage that would be hard to beat by any up and coming crypto players. However, there several smart contract platforms that came before Cardano.
Contacts and networks
They have connections with all the big guys, particularly because their founder, Charles Hoskinson, also helped start Ethereum.
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Management Team
Entrepreneurial Team
You can’t get much better Charles Hoskinson, Jeremy Wood, and the IOHK and EMURGO teams.
Industry/technical experience
Incorporating the Cardano Foundation and outside parties gives Cardano a solid base of industry and technical expertise.
Integrity
Despite some minor controversy and the high profile resignation of Michael Parsons, the Cardano team has maintained an overall honest and transparent reputation.
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Token Mechanics
Token required
Cardano needs a tokenized system in order to properly execute its PoS-based protocol as well as its plans to globalize transactions. The token is a critical vehicle that will likely play a larger role in its expansion in the near future.
Value added
Cardano’s token carries unique value because it helps fuel a new vision for crypto. If Cardano succeeds in achieving true interoperability, for example, the token will be the currency that makes interacting with the Cardano network possible.
Decentralized
This is where it gets a little fuzzy. On the one hand, Cardano is establishing a democratized system. On the other, in order to use funds set aside from each transaction for development, you have to submit a proposal to a central body.
Token supply
The number of ADA tokens is capped at 45 billion. This is a firm cap that includes 13.88 billion tokens earmarked for staking rewards.
Public exchange
Cardano is traded on major exchanges like Binance, Upbit and Bittrex.
MVP
Cardano is yet to launch its mainnet but has a testnet up and running since last year.
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User Adoption
Technical difficulty
ecause their tokens are used to both establish PoS and in transactions, a non-technical person may have a little trouble grasping how it works.
Halo Effect
The token is connected to Ethereum thanks to sharing a founder. However, Cardano does not carry the same Halo effect as other brands in this market.
Buzz
There has been little buzz around Cardano lately, which could be contributed ot the fact that it is still in testnet phase and is yet to show off its full potential.
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Overall Score
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