Cardano Ecosystem Overview​

Cardano has emerged as a pioneer in the blockchain space by ushering in a new era of decentralized finance (DeFi) and smart contract capabilities. To understand Cardano in depth, check out Bitquery’s simple interface (explorer) and a host of APIs that can help you nail Cardano ecosystem analysis in a jiffy! What’s more, you don’t need to know coding to do all this!

In this article, let’s explore the Cardano ecosystem and the diverse projects that make up this robust and new-age blockchain platform through Bitquery’s APIs.

Cardano Overview

Cardano, founded by Ethereum co-founder Charles Hoskinson, operates on a foundation of principles that prioritize scalability, sustainability, and interoperability.

Cardano development is spread over five eras: Byron (Foundation era), Shelley (Decentralization era), Goguen (Smart contracts era), Basho (Scaling era) and Voltaire (Governance era).

Cardano uses the Ouroboros consensus mechanism, a proof-of-stake protocol that ensures security and decentralization.

Key Components of the Cardano Ecosystem

• Cardano (ADA) - Native Cryptocurrency: ADA is the native cryptocurrency of Cardano. ADA serves as both a means of exchange within the network and a tool for participating in the platform's decentralized governance.

• Cardano Improvement Proposals (CIPs): Similar to Ethereum's EIPs, Cardano improvement proposals outline changes, enhancements, or additions to the Cardano protocol.

• Smart Contracts and Plutus: One of Cardano's groundbreaking features is the integration of smart contracts. The Plutus platform enables developers to create secure and scalable decentralized applications (dApps) on Cardano, opening up a new frontier for innovation and collaboration.

Cardano Ecosystem: Projects and Initiatives

Cardano projects have been steadily growing, even overtaking Ethereum development projects during certain time periods. Broadly, these fall into:

• Decentralized Finance (DeFi): Cardano's ecosystem hosts a growing array of DeFi projects, offering users opportunities for lending, borrowing, and yield farming. The emphasis on interoperability allows these projects to seamlessly integrate and collaborate, fostering a robust and interconnected DeFi landscape.

• NFTs and Tokenization: Cardano has become a hub for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and tokenization, with artists, creators, and developers leveraging the platform for the creation and trading of unique digital assets. This vibrant ecosystem reflects the diversity and creativity of the Cardano community.

• Governance: Cardano's commitment to decentralized governance is embodied in the Voltaire phase, which introduces a treasury system and a decentralized voting mechanism. ADA holders actively participate in shaping the future of the network, making governance a collective effort.

Historical Performance of Cardano Ecosystem

Through Bitquery, you can analyze both real-time and historic data as shown below.

Summary

DeFi is gaining traction as new protocols are being developed. dApps such as Minswap were dominant during 2023 Q2. Minswap was the leading DeFi on Cardano with a 32% increase. ADA continued to be the popularly traded currency even though there were others that made their presence known.

Through the following queries by Bitquery, you can analyze the number of NFTs that were transacted on Cardano, unique buyers and senders, number of transactions on an average and more.

Cardano Transactions

Count of Daily Transactions

Check out the number of transactions on Cardano on a given date with this query. For example, here’s the transaction for 4th Jan 2024.

query {
  cardano(network: cardano) {
    transactions(options: {desc: "date.date", limit: 10}) {
      date {
        date
      }
      count
    }
  }
}

10-Day Transactions Data

Let’s get the daily transactions on Cardano for the last 10 days with this query. You can see how the transactions on the chain have grown in mere 10 days.

{
  cardano(network: cardano) {
    transactions(options: {desc: "date.startOfInterval", limit: 10}) {
      date {
        startOfInterval(unit: day, interval: 10)
      }
      count
    }
  }
}

History of All Currency Transactions

You can also obtain a history of ADA traded on Cardano over a 6-month period for a specific address as shown here. Currency inputs from June to December 2023 have increased by about 190% as shown from the results.

{
  cardano(network: cardano) {
    inputs(
      options: {desc: "date.month", limit: 10, offset: 0}
      currency: {is: "ADA"}
      date: {after: "2023-06-01"}
    ) {
      value
      value_usd: value(in: USD, calculate: sum)
      currency {
        symbol
        tokenType
        name
      }
      date {
        startOfInterval(unit: month)
        month
      }
    }
  }
}

Mint Activity on Cardano

Total Number of Mints on Cardano

Let’s check the number of mints on the Cardano chain over a 6-month period. Analyze the minting trends on the chain with this query. Total number of mints on Cardano has increased 35% during the selected period.

{
  cardano(network: cardano) {
    transactions(
      options: {desc: "date.month", limit: 100}
      date: {since: "2023-06-01", till: "2023-12-31"}
    ) {
      date {
        month
        startOfInterval(unit: month)
      }
      inputValue
      input_value_usd: inputValue(in: USD)
      outputCount
      inputCount
      feeValue
      fee_value_usd: feeValue(in: USD)
      mintCount(calculate: sum)
    }
  }
}

Future Prospects

Looking ahead, Cardano has a roadmap that includes further protocol upgrades, enhancements, and expansions. Voltaire is the phase that’s gaining momentum, that is, the transition to Voltaire from Basho is on the cards. Voltaire is further going to enhance Cardano with the incorporation of treasury management and voting capabilities.

The number of projects on Cardano also increased in 2023 with as many as 1000 projects being developed on Cardano. Some of the prominent ones include Alonzo (for smart contracts), Minswap, Sundaeswap, MELD, Cornucopias, Djed, and Empowa among several others.

Several programming languages such as Marlowe, Plutus, Aiken, and more are being developed. The development efforts on Cardano also include projects and protocols such as Hydra, Mithril, shared security models, and other key tools.

Conclusion

As Cardano continues to evolve, it offers a compelling vision for a decentralized future with a focus on DeFi, dApps, gaming, and several other projects. Scaling protocols like Hydra will further boost the Cardano ecosystem, where possibilities are endless.

Whether you are an investor, developer, or enthusiast, exploring the Cardano ecosystem unveils a landscape rich in potential and promise. Bitquery can assist you in your quest. Reach out to them now on Telegram.

About Bitquery

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Bitquery empowers developers with straightforward blockchain data tools. If you have questions or need assistance, connect with us on our Telegram channel or via email at sales@bitquery.io. Stay updated on the latest in cryptocurrency by subscribing to our newsletter below.

This article has been written by guest writer Aparna Sridhar