Algorand Vs. Cardano – What’s the Difference?

As the smart contract programmable blockchain battle intensifies, more attention has been placed on Ethereum's competitors. Both Cardano and Algorand provide developers with an alternative to Ethereum’s high gas fees and congestion. As such, they both have seen considerable adoption since their introduction to the market. Here's some insight into Cardano (ADA) vs Algorand (ALGO).

From afar, the platforms share many similarities. They both seek to improve Dapp development and provide more flexibility to the market. Upon closer review, the differences between Cardano (ADA) vs Algorand (ALGO) become more evident. Here is what makes these networks unique and how they used these features to become top-performing projects.

What is Cardano (ADA)?

Cardano (ADA) comes from the mind of developers who previously worked on Ethereum directly. They saw the shortcomings of the protocol and created Cardano to fill those voids. The network operates as a third-generation public blockchain that is open source.

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Developers can create or migrate their current Dapps over to the network and save on fees. Notably, Cardano was the first blockchain to enter the market using a peer-reviewed research strategy. The goal of the project was to demonstrate how utilizing evidence-based methods such as scientific philosophy and academic theory can improve the usability of decentralized networks.

What is Algorand (ALGO)?

Algorand is a Dapp capable decentralized blockchain ecosystem. The network seeks to compete against Ethereum and other smart contract programmable protocols. The protocol leverages low fees, an intuitive interface that eliminates coding requirements, and a streamlined token creation process.

Algorand seeks to eliminate financial and technical barriers to crypto adoption via its one-click solutions. Anyone can create digital assets and blockchains using Algorand's open-source protocol. Developers can tokenize, transfer, and program conditions via smart contracts.

History of Cardano

Cardano quickly became one of the top-performing PoS (Proof-of-Stake) coins following its launch in September 2017. The project garnered immediate attention due to its academic network backing and experienced development team. The protocols Founder's, Jeremy Wood and Charles Hoskinson, are well-known crypto developers. They have worked on other popular projects, most notably, Ethereum.

Cardano's model is different in that it integrates academic peer review into the equation. The protocol works with professors from prestigious universities across the globe. These professors play a role in improving the security and practicality of the network. Cardano's ICO (initial coin offering) was a major event in the crypto market in 2017. The network secured $62 million from a variety of investors from around the world. On September 29, 2017, the developers officially launched Cardano's mainnet

History of Algorand

Algorand entered the market in 2017. The protocol also saw support from the educational sector for a variety of reasons. The network was founded by Silvio Micali. Micali is highly respected in the tech circle and has won a Turing award for his contributions to computer science. He is also a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor.

Algorand (ALGO) – Homepage – Cardano (ADA) vs Algorand (ALGO)

Algorand hosted a crowdfunding event in June 2019. The ICO was a success that netted the project $122,400,000 to continue development on the project. The Algorand mainnet went public in 2019. Additionally, ALGO ranks within the top 30 cryptocurrencies according to CoinGecko data.

What Problems does Cardano Solve?

Cardano was built to provide relief to a variety of problems the market faced at that time. For one, it helped to fight centralization. Ethereum had just released the ERC-20 token standard and the market was reliant on it to launch new tokens and Dapps. However, when congestion became an issue and gas prices rose due to the rise of the popular Cryptokitties NFT game, developers needed alternatives.

Cardona provides a more cost-efficient and scalable option to consider. The network was built to account for the needs of users by reducing fees and improving interoperability. These characteristics helped it to become a well-recognized token in the market.

What Problems does Algorand Solve?

Algorand was designed to eliminate the technical and financial barriers to crypto adoption. The network's developers introduced simple solutions to problems that once required skilled experts such as creating NFTs or synthetic tokens. This strategy has helped Algorand gain momentum.

The protocol eliminates the need to use coding when creating digital assets. It also provides high scalability on par with the world's top payment processors such as PayPal and VISA. These features, coupled with the network's low fees, make it a smart choice for developers seeking to create more robust dapps.

How Does Cardano Work?

Cardano is composed of a variety of independent developers. These individuals leverage standards to work across multiple entities and achieve interoperability with the final product. The development team that creates the system is responsible for its upkeep, maintenance, and support. All actions go through an additional layer of review as a part of the peer-review process.

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The Cardano Foundation is a non-profit that was set up to expand the Cardano ecosystem and drive user adoption. This group is tasked with creating new partnerships and protecting the protocols technology. They operate by promoting standardization and other methods of improving innovation in tech sectors.

How Does Algorand Work?

Algorand operates as a permissionless payments-focused Layer1 blockchain. The network integrates a Proof-of-Stake consensus algorithm to provide high scalability and responsiveness to users. The protocol integrates the Algorand blockchain, smart contracts, a DeFi ecosystem, and a utility token called ALGO to accomplish this task.

The Algorand Foundation is responsible for the ecosystem's growth. This team seeks out projects that have the potential to make a positive impact on the community and help provide these projects with both technical and financial support. In this way, Algorand does its part to help promote cryptographic research ventures.

How to Buy Algorand (ALGO) and Cardano (ADA)

Currently, Algorand (ALGO) and Cardano (ADA) are each available for purchase on the following exchanges.

Uphold – This is one of the top exchanges for United States & UK residents that offers a wide range of cryptocurrencies. Germany & Netherlands are prohibited.

Uphold Disclaimer: Terms Apply. Cryptoassets are highly volatile. Your capital is at risk. Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment, and you should not expect to be protected if something goes wrong..

Kraken – Founded in 2011, Kraken is one of the most trusted names in the industry with over 9,000,000 users, and over $207 billion in quarterly trading volume.

The Kraken exchange offers trading access to over 190 countries including Australia, Canada, Europe, and is a top exchange for USA residents. (Excluding New York & Washington state).

Algorand (ALGO) Vs. Cardano (ADA)

Now that you can tell the differences between Cardano (ADA) vs Algorand (ALGO), it's easy to see how both of these projects could co-exist in the market. As such, you may find it conducive to your trading strategy to hold both of these tokens in your portfolio.

To learn more about either project, visit our Investing in Cardano guide or our Investing in Algorand guide.