Algorand vs Cardano: Which One Is Better and Faster?

What Is Cardano?

To conduct a fair comparison of Algorand vs Cardano, we first need to learn about both projects and their features, then start analysing them in parallel.

Aiming to provide high security, scalability, and interoperability for smart contracts and dApps, Cardano was developed as a decentralised blockchain platform with evolving features back in 2015 by Charles Hoskinson.

Using a Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism, Cardano lets users earn rewards by staking (hodling) their ADA tokens, the native cryptocurrency of the Cardano network.

Also, Cardano relies on academic research and scientific philosophy to design and develop the platform and its features.

Thanks to its multi-layer structure, Cardano divides the network into the settlements layer and the computation layer, which handle transactions of ADA and execute smart contracts and dApps, respectively.

Let’s learn more about the features that differentiate Cardano from similar projects.

Cardano Features

Here are the main distinctive features of Cardano.

• Ouroboros Consensus Algorithm: Cardano’s version of the PoS consensus mechanism is called Ouroboros. It uses validators' staked coins to manage the network instead of their computing power, like in the PoW algorithm.
• Multi-Layer Architecture: Cardano has a multi-layered design for better scalability and flexibility in upgrades.
• Smart Contracts: Cardano is a huge fan and supporter of smart contracts.
• Treasury System: Cardano’s treasury system lets stakeholders vote on the network changes to make sure the changes are in line with the community’s benefits.
• Interoperability: Cardano is interoperable, i.e., it connects other blockchain networks to streamline the transfer and exchange of assets and data.
• Sustainability: With a long-term presence in mind, Cardano tries to minimise its energy consumption and ensure the network’s proper functionality as it grows bigger.

These were the basics you needed to know about Cardano to get a general picture of it in mind. Now, let’s move on and get to know Algorand.

Learn more: Tezos vs Cardano: Which One Is A Better Long-Term Investment?

What Is Algorand?

Security, scalability and decentralisation in creating dApps and digital assets are three pillars of developing the Algorand blockchain platform. Silvio Micali created Algorand in 2017 to provide an efficient infrastructure to build and run dApps and execute transactions in a fast and secure way.

Algorand uses a PPoS (Pure-Proof-of-Stake) consensus mechanism, letting the users stake ALGO, the native cryptocurrency of the network, to take part in the platform processes and validate transactions.

Algorand can scale without compromising security or decentralisation, i.e., it can process over 1,000 transactions per second (TPS), and its consensus mechanism confirms transactions in a few seconds.

Algorand also allows for the creation of different types of digital assets, including stablecoins, security tokens, and NFTs. These are only some of Alogrand’s features; let’s know more about them.

Algorand Features

The following are among the main features of the Algorand platform.

• Security: To ensure security and privacy and prevent attacks, Algorand provides a permissionless and decentralised platform and uses advanced cryptographic techniques.
• Scalability and Speed: Algorand prioritises scalability to execute thousands of transactions per second. Also, its consensus algorithm allows confirming transactions in seconds to make Algorand a fast blockchain network.
• Low Fees: Algorand sets lower transaction fees than other platforms, making it a more cost-effective network.
• Flexibility: Algorand aims to be a flexible network by issuing stablecoins, security tokens, and NFTs.
• Sustainability: Algorand’s PPoS (Pure-Proof-of-Stake) consensus mechanism increases its sustainability for conducting transactions and building dApps.

Now that we know about both platforms let’s start comparing them and see how they’ve evolved in parallel.

The Key Differences Between Algorand vs Cardano

The following table displays the key differences between Algorand and Cardano. Other essential factors we’ll compare in the following sections are

• Price History,
• ROI, ATL, ATH,
• Consensus Mechanism,
• Architecture,
• The Latest Developments,
• NFTs,
• Transaction Speed, and
• Price Prediction.

Learn more: Sushiswap vs Uniswap: An In-Depth Review

Algorand vs Cardano: Price History

An important factor to consider when choosing a promising crypto project is its financial performance since its launch. Here, we’ll compare and contrast the price performance of Algorand vs Cardano.

• Algorand (ALGO) started trading in June 2019 and marked its highest trading price in the same month, on Jun 20, 2019, at $3.56.
• Cardano (ADA) was first traded on Oct 18, 2017, at $0.02684535, but recorded its highest price level two years later, on Sep 02, 2021, at $3.09.
• Algorand spent the next months, from July 2019 until January 2021, in the $0.354122 price range.
• After rising to $1.08 on Jan 05, 2018, Cardano spent the next months until January 2021 in the $0.04246575 price level.
• Algorand experienced two major spikes on Feb 14, 2021, at $1.67, and on Sep 10, 2021, at $2.35, after some fluctuations.
• Cardano experienced two major spikes on May 17, 2021, reaching $2.29, and on Sep 02, 2021, at $3.09, which was its highest price level.
• Since its second major spike, ALGO kept a downward trend, and after some fluctuations, it is now traded at $0.229147 on Mar 05, 2023.
• Since its highest price level, ADA started declining, and after some fluctuations, it is now traded at $0.339489 on Mar 05, 2023.

The other financial factors we’re about to analyse in the following section include Algorand and Cardano’s Return on Investment (ROI), All-Time Low (ATL), and All-Time High (ATH).

Read More: Cardano Vs Ethereum: Which One Is A Better Long-Term Investment?

Algorand vs Cardano: ROI, ATL and ATH

The tables below depict the ROI, ATL, and ATH of Alogrand vs Cardano. It’s no secret that Return on Investment (ROI) indicates a digital asset’s financial profitability in certain time frames.

Also, ATL and ATH show the lowest and highest price levels a cryptocurrency has recorded since its launch. These indices can help you see how high and low ALGO and ADA have gone, and by adding this to their ROI, you can set your expectations for their future growth.

As the table above shows, Cardano has been more profitable or less loss-making in various time frames. Let’s see how they differ in their current price, ATL, and ATH in the table below.

Algorand vs Cardano: Consensus Mechanism

Algorand uses a PPoS consensus algorithm to achieve high scalability, security, and decentralisation. In PPoS, a small group of stakeholders (called a committee) validates each transaction block.

The committees are chosen randomly using the VRF (Verifiable Random Function) cryptographic technique so that PPoS can ensure the process is fair, secure, transparent and tamper-proof.

Cardano uses a version of the PoS consensus mechanism called Ouroboros, which validates transactions using a combination of stake-based selection, leader election, and block confirmation.

Ouroboros aims to increase the network’s security, scalability, and sustainability while decreasing energy consumption. Also, to be fair and random in choosing the block producers, the VSS (Verifiable Secret Sharing) cryptographic technique.

Algorand vs Cardano: Architecture

The following table summarises how Algorand vs Cardano differ in architecture and platform design.

Algorand vs Cardano: The Latest Developments

Algorand and Cardano plan to develop their platforms by adding new features and use cases to satisfy existing users and attract new ones. Here's a summary of these two projects’ latest developments.

Algorand’s Latest Developments

• Algorand 2.0: Algorand 2.0 has introduced different features, like atomic transfers, asset freeze and clawback, and stateless smart contracts.
• Algorand Standard Assets (ASAs): Algorand’s newly introduced standard assets (ASAs) are tokens designed to represent various assets, including commodities, securities, and currencies.
• Algorand Governance: Algorand’s new on-chain governance system lets token holders join the decision-making process to vote for upgrades and other changes.
• Web3: Algorand strives to increase Web3 adoption in India through key partnerships. In February 2023, Algorand partnered with educational institutions and schools to encourage students and faculty members to enter Web3.

Cardano’s Latest Developments

• Goguen Era: Cardano's Goguen Era is a major upgrade to smart contract functionality on the platform. It includes features like the Plutus programming language, which is more secure and functional.
• Cardano Native Tokens: Cardano has recently enabled users and developers to build custom native tokens on the platform for various aims, including fundraising and community development.

Read More: Cardano Vs Polygon (Matic): Which One Is A Better Investment?

Algorand vs Cardano: NFT

Algorand

• Algorand Standard Assets (ASAs): Algorand's ASA functionality lets developers create and deploy custom assets, including NFTs. Using this feature enhances flexibility and lets the users control the characteristics and properties of the NFTs.
• Algorand Wallet: It provides an easy-to-use interface to create, send, and receive NFTs using the wallet.
• Algorand NFT Marketplace: Algorand’s built-in NFT marketplace is a secure and transparent platform which lets creators and buyers connect directly to buy and sell NFTs.

Cardano

• Native Tokens: Cardano's native token functionality enables users to manage NFT properties in a flexible way.
• Marlowe: Cardano’s domain-specific language, Marlowe lets users create financial contracts on the Cardano blockchain. It can also be used in developing and controlling NFTs.
• Cardano NFT Marketplace: Various NFT marketplaces like SpaceBudz have been created for Cardano to let users create NFT collections on the Cardano blockchain.

Algorand vs Cardano: Fees

The following table compares Algorand vs Cardano regarding transaction fees.

Algorand vs Cardano: Transaction Speed

• Algorand’s PPoS processes transactions faster, resulting in a throughput of around 1,000 TOS. Also, using block finality, Algorand finalises transactions as soon as they are added to a block and doesn’t need additional confirmations.
• Cardano’s Ouroboros randomly selects a group of nodes to confirm transactions and create new blocks, impacting transaction speed. Cardano has a 257 TPS, with an average confirmation time of about 20 seconds.

Algorand vs Cardano: Price Prediction

Algorand vs Cardano price prediction enables you to get a general picture of these two projects’ price performance in the coming years, from 2023 to 2030.

Remember that no price prediction is definite, and a volatile market like crypto is prone to many changes. Still, price predictions are based on the projects’ current performance and help us understand what crypto experts think about their future.

Algorand vs Cardano: Which One Is Better?

Congrats! Reading this means you’ve read through this article reviewing Algorand vs Cardano looking for an answer to the question, “Which one is better and faster”.

Well, Algorand can process the transactions faster, with a 1,000 TPS. However, choosing one of the two depends on many factors. Let’s review what we’ve learned so far.

Many features of these two platforms depend on your priorities and preferences, and the better one is determined by your needs. Cardano has been doing slightly better financially in the recent year, with a better ROI. Also, price predictions foresee a more profitable future for Cardano (ADA).

Regarding their price performance, Algorand and Cardano have had similar high and low levels.

Putting it all together, we can decide that these two projects have been evolving shoulder by shoulder but if you need faster transactions, choose ALGO. However, if you need a better long-term investment, choose ADA.

Summary

This article was a detailed review of Algorand vs Cardano, comparing and contrasting the two projects to let you know enough about them to make an informed investment decision.

It’s no secret that you need to do your own research before making investment decisions in the volatile market of cryptocurrencies. You need to monitor the projects, choose the best ones, analyse them and handpick the ones best suit your situation and preferences.

To this aim, Cryptologist supports you with a free crypto screening tool, detailed crypto coin top gainers, and cryptocurrency reviews and articles to enable you to make smart investment decisions.

FAQ

You can find answers to the most frequently asked questions about Algorand vs Cardano to choose the one meeting your investment needs.

Is Cardano Better Than Algorand?

Historical volatility indicates that Algorand is about 1.5 times riskier than Cardano. But there are many factors to consider before saying which is better.

Why Is Algorand Special?

Algorand is unique for its multi-layered blockchain structure.

Does Algorand Have Potential?

Yes, price predictions based on Algorand’s current performance indicate that it can surpass $5 in a few years.