$ADA ranking 09

Release date 02102017

Cardano (ADA) is an open-source Proof of Stake (PoS) blockchain network, based on several design components including a DApp development platform, a multi-asset ledger, and verifiable smart contracts.

The inception and continuous development of Cardano is attributed to a substantial volume of academic research, with significant contributions from "Ouroboros: A Provably Secure Proof of Stake Blockchain Protocol". This is often used to differentiate this project from other competing blockchain protocols.

The transaction ledger uses a modified version of UTXO to support smart contracts and is still under development.