Ethereum broke new ground with the concept of smart contracts. But as a proof of work (formerly) chain performing 30 transactions per second (TPS), the market foresaw a need for more energy-efficient, faster networks.
Cardano vs Solana – known as version 3.0 blockchains – represent the next developmental iteration after Ethereum. If the future is multichain, then investors are wise to examine both, as each has made a name for itself and pushed blockchain technology forward in innovative ways.
The following analysis compares Cardano and Solana from conceptual, technical, product, and tokenomic perspectives. High-level positives and criticisms are provided in the conclusion. So LFG.
What Are Cardano and Solana
Cardano and Solana are decentralized, smart contract, proof of stake (POS), L1 blockchain networks. Both support diverse economic ecosystems and provide users with fast transactions and low fees. Both networks are in the top 10 crypto projects by market cap. Their native tokens are ADA and SOL, respectively.
How Do Cardano and Solana Work
While they seem similar, under the hood inspections reveal key conceptual and technical differences between the two networks. Here are the differences:
Cardano Concepts and Technicals
- Development, Research, and Philosophy: Cardano’s development has been slow and purposeful as the network is subject to extensive peer-reviewed research and testing. But, project developers have extremely ambitious hopes that the network will one day transform the global economy into a more financially inclusive system.
- Epochs and Slots: The Cardano blockchain is divided into epochs (approx. 4 days) and slots (approx. 20 seconds). The latter occurs inside the former. Ouroboros POS randomly selects nodes (odds in proportion to stake) to validate new blocks for each slot. Given an epoch can contain 432,000 slots, Cardano is able to process approximately 250 TPS.
- Ouroboros POS: “Ouroboros” is the ancient symbol of the snake that eats itself. Ouroboros POS implements a Global Random Oracle (GRO) which is essentially a randomly changing randomness algorithm. GRO leverages previous block data to help it change – hence the parallel to the symbol. GRO selects Cardano’s validators and is believed to provide enhanced network security due to the extreme difficulty in anyone correctly predicting how the algorithm will change.
- Sidechains: Cardano’s next stage (Stage Four: Basho) will usher in the development of sidechains – newly created blockchains that communicate and run in parallel with Cardano’s mainchain. The purpose of sidechains is to help the network scale. Thus, Cardano is becoming conceptually similar to Polkadot, which is a network of blockchain networks.
Solana Concepts and Technicals
- Hybrid POS and proof of history (POH): Solana implements a novel consensus mechanism that uses both POS and POH. Thus, the network is considered as one of the most technically advanced due to this hybrid nature.
- POS: Solana’s 2,047 validators are randomly selected to propose the next block. Selection odds are in proportion to stake. Other validators must either accept or reject the newly proposed block. If verified, the chosen validator receives a reward. Delegators are free to stake with any validator they…
David learned about bitcoin in 2015 and has closely followed the crypto industry since then.
His professional interests center around bitcoin, layer-one blockchain protocols, decentralized finance, and clean energy.
An attorney by trade, David has held licenses to practice law in the State of Hawaii and in US federal courts.
