Algorand vs Cardano: Which One Is Better?
The blockchain industry has always been filled with innovators. From cypherpunks to cryptographic scientists, these great thinking minds have made blockchain technology possible. What’s more, they are continuously attempting to improve the space and prepare it for the next technological revolution.
In this article, we compare Algorand vs Cardano. These are two blockchain platforms that transcend boundaries by applying scientific methods. To discover which one has better potential, we compare their fundamentals, tokenomics, and price action.
Algorand vs Cardano: Consensus Mechanism
Algorand was created by Silvio Micali, an MIT scholar in computer sciences. It is a network that aims to solve the scalability and centralization issues of the blockchain industry. It uses the perfect proof of stake consensus, which instead of incentivizing only block producers, rewards all ALGO token holders.
This allows for a bigger adoption of the ALGO cryptocurrency, by rewarding even those that don’t wish to actively participate in consensus.
Cardano was created by Charles Hoskinson and is one of the few blockchains that doesn’t propose a whitepaper. Instead, it relies on a peer-reviewed protocol by the most prominent actors in the industry.
The network uses Ouroboros, a unique consensus mechanism that uses the concept of epochs for creating blocks. This proof of stake consensus provides high scalability and low fees at all times.
Algorand vs Cardano: Smart Contract Functionality
Algorand and Cardano are both smart contract-capable blockchains, each one using their proprietary protocols. This means that, unlike most of the industry, they aren’t using EVM, but their own engines for processing smart contracts.
That said, both of the networks allow developers to deploy dApps and tokens such as USDT vs USDC and DAI.
Cardano uses Plutus, the smart contract platform that allows developers to deploy applications that communicate with the ADA protocol.
The Algorand team felt that the adoption of the network was too low, despite the benefits they provided. As an answer, the Algorand Foundation provided a grant to create the London Bridge — a protocol that provides Ethereum compatibility to Algorand assets.
This has a goal to increase the adoption and usage of the Algorand dApps with Ethereum-based assets.
Algorand vs Cardano: Tokenomics
Cardano’s native cryptocurrency is the ADA token. This cryptocurrency is used for securing the network through staking, as validators receive rewards in ADA for participating in the consensus. Moreover, users can pay gas fees in ADA for interacting with smart contracts on the chain. The ADA token has a max supply of 45,000,000,000 of which 78% are in circulation.
ALGO is Algorand’s staking and gas token, meant for securing the network and incentivizing holders. Unlike other PoS consensus, all ALGO holders get rewards from the staking mechanism. This reward mechanism is carried out every 10 minutes and has the goal to onboard more users and decentralize the network further. ALGO has a max supply of 10,000,000,000, with 72% in circulation.
Algorand vs Cardano: Price History
Cardano is a veteran in the industry and has already experienced two market cycles. Its price reached $1.17 in 2018 and continuous development allowed the project to remain relevant. In 2021, ADA reached an all-time high of $3, which has now retraced to $0.38.
Priceprediction.net provides a target of $1.19 for 2025, hoping to see the value of ADA triple from the current level. For 2030, the website is more bullish, with a forecast of $7.69—more than double of its previous all-time high.
Algorand has been around only since 2019 and suffered a crash from its ICO price of $2.4 in the bear market of that period. Nevertheless, during the bullish cycle of 2021, ALGO reached $2.3, showing great gains for early investors. Currently, its price is hovering around $0.15.
Priceprediction.net hopes to see the ALGO cryptocurrency reach $0.49 by 2025. For the long term, the forecast gives a target of $3.38 in 2030.
Which Will You Invest In?
Algorand and Cardano are both highly capable blockchains that have set up a future-proof narrative. Although the bear market hasn’t been too kind to their token price action, the sound tech they provide should ensure their survival.
On raw numbers, however, ALGO might have a better upside potential in the short term, due to low prices and lower total supply.