Buy Cardano (ADA)
How To Buy Cardano (ADA)
ADA is the native coin of the Cardano network.
Step 1: Choose A Wallet
To store your ADA in your own wallet, you’ll need a compatible crypto wallet. The Daedalus wallet (full blockchain) and the Yoroi (web) wallet both support ADA storage and ADA staking. You can pair either of these wallets with a Ledger hardware wallet for added security.
Step 2: Choose A Crypto Exchange
Coinbase offer the ADA token. Link your bank account or debit card to your chosen exchange using the instructions provided by your exchange.
Step 3: Decide On The Amount Of ADA You Want To Purchase
Place a limit order or market order to buy ADA on your exchange. Limit orders let you set a precise price.
Step 4: Store, Transfer, Or Use Your ADA
The exchange where you bought ADA can hold your ADA in a custodial wallet. Many investors prefer self-custody instead. You can use any of the wallets in Step 1 to self-custody your ADA.
Where To Buy ADA Crypto Coin
Several popular exchanges offer ADA.
ADA Overview
| Token | Network | Founders | Key Individuals | Year Founded | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ADA | Cardano | Charles Hoskinson Jeremy Wood | Charles Hoskinson Jeremy Wood Tamara Haasen Romain Pellerin Aggelos Kiayias | 2015 (launched 2017) | Gene Simmons Emurgo ICO (9/2015-1/2017): 25.9 billion ADA sold at $0.0024 per ADA |
Why Does Anyone Buy ADA?
Development of the Cardano network is slow and deliberate, using peer-reviewed research. The result is a well-considered proof-of-stake network that supports smart contracts and native tokens, such as the upcoming stablecoin project, Djed.
Investors choose ADA for several reasons.
- Charles Hoskinson keeps the community informed. Charles Hoskinson, a co-founder of Ethereum who went on to become a co-founder of Cardano, communicates with the community regularly through jovial interviews and on his widely-watched YouTube channel.
- ADA is affordable for small investors. With Ethereum often priced over $1,500, a competing smart-contract token priced under $1 has appeal. For the price of 1 ETH, you can buy nearly 6,000 ADA.
- Cardano was built for energy efficiency. The Cardano network was built from the ground up with efficiency in mind. Cardano’s innovative Ouroborus proof-of-stake protocol is up to four million times as energy efficient as Bitcoin.
- ADA staking is always liquid. Many proof-of-stake protocols require a lock-up period or unstaking period when staking. With Cardano, you can spend or send your ADA tokens as needed, even when staked.
- Cardano brings blockchain technology to real-world challenges. IOHK, the company leading Cardano’s development, is building a blockchain solution to assign student IDs to track the academic performance of over six million students and teachers in Ethiopia.
- Cardano is well-established. Cardano’s ADA token usually ranks within the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market cap.
Is Cardano Coin Being Used?
At the time of this writing, ADA has $392 million in daily trading volume.
- DeFi: Enabling smart contracts on the Cardano blockchain paved the way for decentralized finance (DeFi) applications like Minswap, a popular decentralized exchange for swaps and yield farming.
- Staking: Cardano staking offers a way to earn a yield with your tokens while helping to secure the network. Often, over 70% of the eligible ADA supply is staked.
- NFTs: Several NFT (non-fungible token) marketplaces, such as CNFT.IO and JPG Store, let creators showcase their creations and invite traders to buy and sell NFTs.
- Business and government: Cardano’s much-touted Ethiopia school project may open the door to similar projects, moving key business or government activities onto the blockchain.
- Sending money: While ADA functions like a utility token to secure the network and pay for network transactions, Cardano’s low fees and fast transactions also make ADA viable as a way to send money to others across town or across borders. Over 10 billion ADA change hands daily.
Key Events For ADA
- June 2014: Charles Hoskinson leaves Ethereum.
- January 2015: Charles Hoskinson and Jeremy Wood form IOHK (now IO Global), the company that develops Cardano and supports the Ethereum Classic network.
- September 2017: Cardano (Byron Era) first launched, the first of five planned phases.
- September 2021: Smart contracts are enabled on the Cardano network.
- September 2021: ADA reaches an all-time high of $3.10.
- May 2022: Djed algorithmic stablecoin launches on testnet.
- September 2022: Cardano’s Vasil Era hard fork was finalized, bringing faster and cheaper transactions – and full network decentralization.
Discover Similar Tokens
- Solana (SOL): Built for speed, Solana pushes the limits of smart contract performance and low-cost transactions, filling a similar niche to Cardano.
- Ethereum: (ETH): As the first programmable crypto network and the measuring stick for all new projects, Ethereum is a staple in many crypto investment portfolios.
- Polygon (MATIC): The Polygon network’s Ethereum-compatible blockchain brings faster transaction speeds and much lower fees compared to Ethereum, making MATIC a popular token for DeFi applications.
- Aptos: Built from the best parts of Meta’s abandoned cryptocurrency project, the Aptos network provides up to 160,000 transactions per second (TPS) and smart contract capability.
Frequently Asked Questions
Cardano has a maximum supply of 45 billion and a total (current) supply of about 35 billion, leaving about 10 billion ADA still to be issued.
Cardano offers some advantages over competing crypto assets, including low fees and native liquid staking. All cryptocurrencies bring investment risk, but Cardano staking pays up to 5% yields and ADA is often a top 10 cryptocurrency by market cap.
ADA, the native token of the Cardano blockchain, is used to pay for and validate network transactions on the blockchain but can also be used to transfer value.
Yes. Cardano limits the total supply of ADA to 45 billion, of which about 35 billion have been issued.
There isn’t a way to know how many individual ADA holders there are because one person or organization might have multiple wallets. Currently, there are about 4.4 million Cardano wallet addresses and 818,000 wallets that hold more than 1,000 ADA.
Yes. Kraken lets you use a credit card for Cardano (ADA) purchases.
Yes. Coinbase offer debit-card funding for ADA purchases.
Yes. Both Coinbase and eToro allow PayPal deposits, and both exchanges offer Cardano. eToro only supports transfers to the eToro Money crypto wallet, whereas Coinbase allows withdrawals to any ADA-compatible wallet.
