Cardano is celebrating an ambitious milestone as devs updated in testnet Alonzo, researching Stablefees for cheaper transactions
Representatives of Input-Output HK, the organization behind the development of Cardano blockchain solutions, are celebrating ambitious milestones. These include the operation of the first smart contracts of the Alonzo testnet, the research plan for the future of Stablefees in cryptocurrency trading, and more.
Input-Output HK devs shared an update on what is going on in Cardano (ADA) testnet Alonzo
According to the latest development update, mid-June by marketing director at IOHK Tim Harrison, head of delivery Nigel Hemsley, and head of delivery Dimitris Poulopoulos, the first smart contracts of Cardano’s Alonzo testnet are up and running.
“The first simple Plutus smart contract has this week been successfully run on the AlonzoBlue Cardano testnet” – learn more in June’s mid-month development update https://t.co/3WEQi9hqCX
— IOHK Media (@IOHKMedia) June 11, 2021
The smart contract is written in the Cardano-specific programming language Plutus. Testing of contracts will go through the AlonzoBlue phase, the first phase of the Alonzo testnet. AlonzoBlue transactions are validated by a limited pool of staking pool operators and early ADA fans (the pioneers). The tests are supported by several external groups. For the next phase of testing, AlonzoWhite is expected to start in July with 500 test participants.
The developers also revealed that the Cardano smart contracts in the first use cases were adapted accordingly. Even in its early stages, Cardano’s programming environment addresses various decentralized finance segments. Specifically, they work well with decentralized data oracles, decentralized digital assets exchanges (DEXs), liquidity and staking pools, lending/borrowing tools, and crypto-backed stablecoins.
Furthermore, Cardano (ADA) contracts can store non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
Cardano is working on Stablefees for cheaper crypto transactions
Elsewhere, the Cardano team has begun researching the possibility of “Stablefees”. The basic idea behind Stablefees is to provide a base price for transactions.
In a blog post today from IOHK, the company behind Cardano, it has been stated that future Stablefees will provide fair and predictable transaction prices. The mechanism for Stablefees consists of a decentralized reserve contract that initially manages a stablecoin pegged to the Basket Equivalent Coin (BEC).
The post goes on to give an example involving fiat currency for comparison:
“A comparison in the fiat world might be the International Monetary Fund’s SDR and valued based on a basket of five currencies — the U.S. dollar, the euro, the Chinese renminbi, the Japanese yen, and the British pound sterling. The Stablecoin — let’s call it “Basket Equivalent Coin” (BEC) — is the currency used for paying transaction fees (and all other real-world pricing needs of the platform, e.g., SPO costs).”
In addition to the main functions, ADA will also serve as a backup currency if the reserve contract is in illiquidity. IOHK states that when the research on the specifics of the Stablefees mechanism is complete, they will be integrated into ADA to deliver fair and predictable prices as promised in the post.
Ethereum Co-Founder Revealed Investing in Polkadot and ADA
In a new interview with Anthony Pompliano, founder of Morgan Creek Digital, co-founder of Ethereum, Anthony Di Iorio said he is betting on the future of both Cardano and Polkadot.
Well, that escalated quickly.
Link to full interview: https://t.co/pSrf96TtCi
— Dean ? (@CardanoDean) June 9, 2021
Di Iorio joined the Ethereum development team shortly after meeting Vitalik Buterin at a Bitcoin conference held in 2012. After his stint at Ethereum, De Iorio left to start Decentral, a blockchain company based in Toronto.
When asked about building his current crypto portfolio, Di Iorio breaks down his investments and presents why he sees potential in Polkadot and Cardano.
He said:
” I’m in a number of different projects, but the majority of my stuff is in the top projects. I’m a big fan of Polkadot, I’m a big fan of Cardano. Big fan of Charles, let’s say that. You know, taking some different approaches in the way that they’re doing things, much more on the academic side of what he’s done and bringing stuff forward. Real big fan of Gavin Wood.”
The Charles Di Iorio refers to is Charles Hoskinson, the founder of Cardano, who co-founded Ethereum in December 2013 along with Di Iorio, Vitalik Buterin, and current Polkadot CEO Gavin Wood.
He further shared that, for other crypto holdings, Di Iorio wants to keep things simple and invest in bigger projects:
“Most of my stuff is in the top few things, Ether, Bitcoin, Cardano, Polkadot. I like Cosmos as well. And there are a few others, but I’m not getting lost in all the DeFi (decentralized finance) stuff. I just think there’s not enough time, not enough energy. It’s a full-time gig to be running a lot of that stuff and keeping on top of stuff, so I’ve simplified my life quite a bit over the past few years.”
ADA/USD 4-hour chart | Source: TradingView
It seems that in the near term, the future of Cardano is brimming with hope. At press time, Cardano’s (ADA) price is trading around $1.38, down 10% over the past seven days along with Bitcoin’s decline.
Read more:
- Input-Output HK, The Development Team Behind Cardano Blockchain, Has Unveiled The First Results Of Alonzo Upgrade Testing
- Over The Last 30 Days, Cardano Was The Most Active Crypto Project On GitHub, With 436 Commits