Need to know
Basic concepts
Buy ADA coins
You can buy or sell ada for fiat or other cryptocurrencies using cryptocurrency exchanges. Visit coinmarketcap to see the list of exchanges that support ada.
As an ada holder, it is important to keep your funds secure, and that means you need to keep your private keys private. It is highly recommended to avoid keeping your cryptocurrency in an exchange longer than necessary, and instead to use a cryptocurrency wallet. We recommend either a full-node wallet like Daedalus, or the browser-based Yoroi.
Daedalus wallet - store my ADA
Daedalus is a full-node desktop wallet developed by IOHK. Daedalus is unique in that it downloads a full copy of the Cardano blockchain and independently validates every transaction in its history. This provides maximum security and completely trustless operation, without centrally hosted third-party servers.
Yoroi wallet - store my ADA
Yoroi is EMURGO's one-click-install, light wallet for Cardano. With Yoroi, it is not necessary to download a copy of the blockchain’s history. This makes it a simple, fast way to store and transact your ada (₳). Yoroi is the perfect day-to-day wallet for any Cardano user available as either a web-based extension or a downloadable app.
Proof of stake
Unlike other cryptocurrencies, ADA cannot be mined, since it does not implement a proof-of-work (PoW) consensus model. Since it has no miners, it depends on the network nodes through Cardano wallets and staking pools to achieve network consensus.
How to Stake ADA
Staking Cardano can be as simple as storing your ADA tokens in your wallet and keeping it online. Stakers will then be entitled to a reward proportional to their stake.
What makes it different from most staking pools on decentralized finance (DeFi) is that the assets you hold in pools can be easily removed from staking wallets at any given time
Cardano's
Smart Contracts
Cardano has been designed to use smart contract technology to its full potential. Its smart contract support will enable the platform to establish self-executing agreements that do not require professional oversight. With smart contracts, anyone on the platform can conveniently input any particular condition that has to be met, which will be automatically executed without the need for a user’s constant involvement.
The deployment of smart contracts on the Cardano network will enable the support of decentralized applications (DApps). Ultimately, the end goal of the Cardano philosophy is to make the services once offered exclusively in the traditional financial space more accessible and inclusive through innovative blockchain solutions.