Cardano

Cardano is a Layer 1 blockchain platform designed to support smart contracts and decentralized applications, with a stated emphasis on academic peer review and formal verification of its code before deployment. Its native token, ADA, is used to pay transaction fees, transfer value between parties, and participate in on-chain governance. The platform targets developers and users who want a foundation built through a more methodical, research-first process rather than one that prioritizes rapid feature releases.

Cardano uses a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism in which ADA holders can stake their tokens to become eligible validators; the protocol selects validators partly based on the amount staked and rewards them with additional ADA for confirming transactions. Blocks are produced at an average of roughly 20.4 seconds per block, with 4,226 blocks recorded in the most recent 24-hour period. ADA exists natively on the Cardano chain and is not a token on another network.

Transaction fees are paid by users submitting activity to the chain; in the trailing 30 days, total fees collected were 136,869 USD, and annualizing that pace produces roughly 1,665,240 USD. Of that fee stream, the portion flowing to the protocol itself — protocol revenue — was 27,372 USD over the trailing 30 days, or about 333,026 USD annualized, while the larger share, 109,497 USD over the same 30 days, went to supply-side participants such as stakers. The take rate, representing the protocol's share of total fees, was approximately 20.0 percent over the trailing 30 days. Fees grew 372.8 percent and revenue grew 371.7 percent over the trailing 30 days, though those figures reflect growth from a relatively small base.