How To Use Cardano? ADA Guide 

You already learned what Cardano is, now it’s time to learn how to use Cardano to your advantage. Cardano is beginning to onboard more and more active developers, who are contributing massively to scaling out the ecosystem. More DEX’s, dApps and other platforms are now starting to emerge on a blockchain that has maybe been a little bit behind the competition. $ADA is the token that powers the Cardano network. As more and more products and applications come onboard, they are working in the same way as other blockchains – using their own fungible tokens. These tokens can be stored and accessed from within your Cardano wallet. To get the most out of your $ADA, use the following tool to their full advantage. All the services below are easily accessible with no entry limits – you just need a little bit of $ADA. 

Wallets

A good wallet is crucial for storing and making best use of your crypto. So here is a list of the best available wallets for Cardano users. All products in this section are non-custodial and require you to safely store your *Private Key (*Link W/is Pvt/Pub Keys).

Nami

The Nami Wallet is a browser-based wallet extension. It is probably the best wallet to use at present to really experience Cardano, and its associated products and applications to the fullest. This wallet can be used to send and store multiple assets, to delegate, to mint tokens, and much more. Research tells us that smart contract support will be added when available. The main difference between Nami and its predecessors is that the Nami wallet can be connected to any website to interact with dApps (decentralized apps). This is one of two wallets that can be used with Cardano’s main AMM/DEX, SundaeSwap.

Yoroi

Yoroi is a light wallet for Cardano, one of the original browser extensions and mobile applications. It’s simple, fast, and secure – it is a good day-to-day wallet for $ADA holders. It’s clear user interface means it’s very easy to use. However, the current support and functionality is limited, with users only able to send, receive, and stake their $ADA tokens. No dApp or DEX on the Cardano blockchain supports the Yoroi wallet. To access the new projects that are coming (slowly) off the conveyor belt, you will need to download the Nami Wallet.

AMM (Automated Market Makers)/DeFi

AMM’s are an incredible way to earn high returns on your $ADA tokens. Participating in the *DeFi (*Link W/is DeFi) community is an interest-earning opportunity no one should pass up. Take advantage of the following Automated “Money” Makers to effortlessly grow your $ADA.

SundaeSwap

SundaeSwap is a decentralized exchange (DEX), for trading Cardano projects and tokens, on the Cardano blockchain. The application is (at the time of writing) in public beta on the Cardano mainnet. As a result, the functionality is a little bit behind other renowned DEXs like SpookySwap on Fantom network and Trader Joe on Avalanche. SundaeSwap, however, does still allow users to swap tokens, provide liquidity and farm to earn yield. The good thing is improvements are coming, and soon you will be able to borrow and lend to really make your $ADA work for you. Like all other DEX’s you will need to make sure you have some Cardano in a wallet to pay for gas fees.

Lending & Borrowing

With other blockchains, lending and borrowing will involve the exchange of crypto as collateral and you will receive some other form of crypto to use in which way you like. Cardano has a limited lending and borrowing offering – with MELD currently the only offering at the time of writing. What makes Cardano, and MELD, different, is that in offering your crypto as collateral, you can receive fiat currency straight away. You are then free to use it as you wish. The possibilities you have are endless. At this point in time, to participate in lending and borrowing activities, you need to exchange your $ADA for $MELD on a DEX. 

MELD

Branded as the first DeFi, non-custodial, banking protocol, MELD is the first of its kind built on the Cardano Blockchain. You can securely lend and borrow both crypto and fiat currencies and stake your $MELD tokens for APY. The protocol has built smart contracts to keep its loans secure and is itself governed by the $MELD token. MELD lends fiat currency provided by lenders to borrowers that collateralize cryptocurrency in a MELD smart contract. You must submit twice the amount you wish to borrow as collateral. The lender receives a high interest rate from secured investments, whilst the borrower can maintain their crypto positions and see them grow. $MELD stakes the collateral in community-managed liquidity pools – generating yield. 40% goes to $MELD stakers and 60% to various other functions such as treasury, development, and operations.