Cardano, a seemingly controversial blockchain platform, is gearing up for the next big update, which will bring smart contract capabilities from its native Plutus language.
As of the time of this writing, Cardano’s ADA token has a price of $1.43, which is a 4.8% decrease from its previous price within the last 24 hours.
Plutus details and UTXO
Cardano has revealed more information about Plutus, its native programming language that will be used to create smart contracts following the release of its latest big update, Alonzo.
Plutus contracts, according to IOHK, the company behind Cardano, are made up of parts that run on-chain and parts that run off-chain on a user’s computer. It went on to say that both pieces are written in the Haskell programming language. However, they are nevertheless compiled by Plutus, which also provides the required framework for the implementation of smart contracts on Cardano.
Cardano, like Bitcoin, employs the UTXO (unspent transaction output) paradigm, with inputs consisting of unspent outputs from previous transactions. However, the network has further built upon this by utilizing an enhanced UTXO model (EUTXO), which has distinct benefits over other accounting models.
Without being too complicated, the EUTXO model effectively requires the authenticity of transactions to be tested off-chain before they are sent to the blockchain. In comparison, Ethereum Layer 1 handles all transactions on-chain. Another special advantage is that transaction execution costs can be calculated off-chain prior to transmission.
Alonzo upgrade coming soon
Plutus is a component of the Alonzo update, a significant stage on the Cardano roadmap that incorporates smart contracts and the potential to create dapps (decentralized applications). The team pointed at a timetable in an earlier blog post that the upcoming months of May and June will ideally be a time for quality improvement and checking for customers, followed by a four-week functionality freeze. This will hopefully enable cryptocurrency exchanges and wallets to upgrade and plan for the Alonzo protocol update. It is anticipated that the Alonzo upgrade will be launched sometime in the late summer of this year.
Many investors feel that the arrival of the Alonzo upgrade could change things for the better for Cardano. The cryptocurrency is currently ranked as the 6th highest crypto in the world right now in terms of market capitalization. However, the recent rapid changes in ADA’s price have hampered its ability to experience any kind of sustained long-term increase. Still, ADA holders are hopeful that things will improve with the successful launch of the Alonzo update.
