The crypto asset ADA (艾达币) is the native token of the Cardano blockchain platform, its development history integrates academic rigor, technological innovation, and ecological expansion. The following is a summary of its origins and key development stages:

1. Origin Background (2014–2017)

1. Founder Background

ADA was founded in 2015 by Charles Hoskinson, a co-founder of Ethereum. After leaving due to differences with the Ethereum team regarding the commercialization path, he co-founded the research and development company IOHK (Input Output Hong Kong) with Jeremy Wood, aiming to build a "science-driven" blockchain.

2. Naming and Positioning

- The project name Cardano pays tribute to the 16th-century Italian mathematician Gerolamo Cardano, and the token ADA commemorates the first programmer of the 19th century, Ada Lovelace.

- Positioned as a third-generation Blockchain, aimed at addressing the shortcomings of Bitcoin (poor scalability) and Ethereum (high energy consumption, low efficiency), focusing on three core issues: Scalability, Sustainability, and Interoperability.

3. Technical Foundation

- Developed using the functional programming language Haskell, emphasizing the mathematical rigor of the code.

- The pioneering Ouroboros consensus protocol (Proof of Stake), the first blockchain protocol to pass academic peer review, has an energy consumption of only 0.01% of that of Bitcoin.

2. Token Issuance and Early Development (2017–2019)

1. Token Distribution and Financing

- The total supply of ADA is 45 billion coins, of which 25.9 billion were publicly sold through ICO from 2015 to 2017, raising approximately 62 million USD (with a unit price of about 0.0024 USD).

- The remaining tokens are allocated to IOHK (technical development), the Cardano Foundation (ecosystem governance), and Emurgo (commercial applications).

2. Mainnet Launch and Byron Era

- The mainnet was launched in September 2017, supporting basic trading functions, and the official wallets Daedalus and Yoroi were released.

- The initial price surged from $0.02 to $1.18 in January 2018 (driven by a bull market), but then fell to $0.03 due to a bear market.

3. Disputes and Challenges

- In 2018, the Emurgo team was involved in a fund misappropriation scandal, leading to a trust crisis within the community.

- The development progress is slow, the smart contract features are missing, and it has been ridiculed as a "ghost chain."

3. Ecological Expansion and Technological Upgrades (2020 to Present)

1. Shelley Era (Shelley Era, 2020)

- Introduce a decentralized staking mechanism, where users can delegate ADA to a stake pool to earn rewards (annualized approximately 4%–6%), with network nodes operated by the community, increasing the level of decentralization to 98%.

2. Goguen Era (Goguen Era, 2021)

- The smart contract functionality was launched in September 2021 through the Alonzo hard fork, supporting DeFi and dApp development, with programming languages Plutus and Marlowe lowering the development threshold.

- ADA price surged to an all-time high of 3.09 USD (market cap exceeded 90 billion USD).

3. Basho Era (Basho Era, 2022–2025)

- Focus on scalability upgrades: The Vasil hard fork increases throughput to 260 TPS (Ethereum's approximately 15 TPS) and introduces sidechain and sharding technology to optimize network load.

- Layer 2 ecosystem development: Privacy chain Midnight and other projects promote the expansion of application scenarios.

4. Voltaire Era (Voltaire Era, starting in 2024)

- Introduce the on-chain governance model CIP-1694, where ADA holders can vote on protocol upgrades and fund allocation through delegated representatives (DReps).

- Treasury System: 20% of transaction fees injected into the community treasury (approximately 1.55 billion ADA at the beginning of 2025), for funding ecological projects.

4. Ecological Applications and Global Expansion

1. Growth of DeFi and NFTs

- In 2024, the TVL (Total Value Locked) reached 230 million USD, with leading protocols including Minswap (DEX), Liqwid (lending), and Indigo (synthetic assets).

- The NFT platform JPG Store and others promote the diversification of on-chain assets.

2. Emerging Market Strategy

- Africa Cooperation: Collaborating with the Ethiopian government to establish a blockchain diploma certification system for 5 million students; promoting supply chain traceability applications in Tanzania.

- Latin America Pilot: In 2024, the Constitutional Convention in Argentina will pass an on-chain governance framework based on Cardano.

Five, Controversies and Challenges

1. Governance Discrepancies

- IOHK and the Cardano Foundation have been in a long-standing dispute over the control of the $600 million ecosystem fund, with Hoskinson advocating for community autonomy, while the Foundation refuses to relinquish power.

2. Competitive Pressure

- The launch of smart contracts is lagging behind competitors like Solana, and the scale of the DeFi ecosystem is still relatively small.

6. Future Directions (Post-2025)

1. Completely Decentralized

- After the completion of the Voltaire phase, Cardano will achieve community autonomy, breaking away from IOHK's dominance.

2. Technical Iteration

- Plutus V4 supports zero-knowledge proofs, enhancing privacy and compliance.

- The cross-chain protocol further enhances the asset interoperability with Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Summary: Gradual innovation driven by scientific spirit

The core of ADA's development lies in the academic path of "peer-reviewed research → technical prototypes → formal validation." Although it sacrifices speed for rigor, it gradually builds a sustainable ecosystem with high security and low energy consumption. Whether the vision of a "global financial operating system" can be realized in the future depends on the maturity of governance consensus and the implementation of large-scale applications.

> Appendix: Overview of Cardano Development Stages

> | Era | Time | Core Progress |

> | Byron | 2017 | Mainnet launch, basic trading functions |

> | Shelley | 2020 | Decentralized Staking and Node Operation |

> | Goguen | 2021 | Smart Contracts Launch (Plutus/Marlowe) |

> | Basho | 2022–2025 | Sidechain expansion and performance optimization (Vasil upgrade) |

> | Voltaire | Launching in 2024 | On-chain governance and financial system (CIP-1694) |