The abstract nature of the Cardano consensus layer

This new series of technical posts by IOHK's engineers considers the choices being made

28 May 2020 Edsko de Vries 21 mins read

The abstract nature of the Cardano consensus layer

As we head towards Shelley on the Cardano mainnet, we’re keen to keep you up to date with the latest news. We also want to highlight the tireless work going on behind the scenes, and the team of engineers responsible.

In this Developer Deep Dive series of occasional technical blogs, we open the floor to IOHK's engineers. Over the months ahead, our Haskell developers will offer a…

Building new standards for privacy and scalability

IOHK joins the conversation around zero-knowledge proofs at the ZKP Workshop

20 May 2020 Brian McKenna 6 mins read

Building new standards for privacy and scalability

Building privacy and agency

In the age of information capitalism, data is a commodity which needs to be protected on an individual and global level. Every time someone makes a purchase, logs into an account, or accesses a website, metadata is connected to their individual IP address. Mass amounts of information move around the world every second but if it is not secured through…

How pledging will keep Cardano healthy

Warding off attacks on the decentralized blockchain is just one benefit of the process

12 May 2020 Lars Brünjes 5 mins read

How pledging will keep Cardano healthy

As we approach Shelley on the Cardano mainnet, decentralization has, inevitably, become a topic of debate. Regardless of any initial founding intent, proof-of-work cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum have become more centralized over time. The early days of Bitcoin enthusiasts mining blocks at the weekend are long gone and today we see a small group of specialized…

From Byron to Shelley: part two, the journey to the mainnet

Continuing on to Shelley with the decentralization of block production

11 May 2020 Kevin Hammond 5 mins read

From Byron to Shelley: part two, the journey to the mainnet

Today, we’re kicking off the ‘Friends & Family’ testnet, which will allow us to establish a robust network to test and iterate, before we roll it out to the wider community. We’ve gathered a small number of around 20 ‘pioneers’ to help us with this important initial work. By the time you probably read this, they’ll be briefed and we’ll have things underway.

In my last blog, I…

Combinator makes easy work of Shelley hard fork

A behind-the-scenes look with Duncan Coutts and Edsko de Vries

7 May 2020 Anthony Quinn 11 mins read

Combinator makes easy work of Shelley hard fork

Since the launch of the Incentivized Testnet marked the coming of the Shelley era last year, the Cardano platform has entered a fast-moving period of development. The Ouroboros Classic consensus protocol has supported Cardano Byron and the ada cryptocurrency for the past 30 months, and we’ll soon be switching to Ouroboros Praos. This is the version of our proof-of-stake (PoS…