Blog > 2020

Merging formal methods and agile development to build Cardano

IOHK formal methods director Philipp Kant lays out our methodology for building software with flexibility and precision

9 April 2020 Philipp Kant 7 mins read

Merging formal methods and agile development to build Cardano

Form and function

IOHK is building Cardano into a global financial and social operating system. This enormous task requires both quick iteration and absolute precision. It is why IOHK has chosen to combine the speed of agile development with high assurance code and formal methods. Fusing flexibility and formality led our engineers to pioneer this modern development philosophy.

Architecting Shelley: an interview with Duncan Coutts

A fireside chat with Duncan Coutts, Cardano's chief technical architect, about Haskell and delivering Shelley

7 April 2020 Eric Czuleger 6 mins read

Architecting Shelley: an interview with Duncan Coutts

Duncan Coutts has been an important guide on the road to the Cardano Shelley mainnet. Long time supporters of IOHK are likely familiar with his signature long hair, beard, and penchant for drinking tea while discussing decentralization in front of a white board. He recently sat down for an interview to discuss the upcoming Byron reboot, the Haskell Shelley testnet, and the…

We need you for a Daedalus testing program!

A call for the Cardano community to help shape IOHK’s ada wallet for the Shelley era

1 April 2020 Anthony Quinn 7 mins read

We need you for a Daedalus testing program!

The Daedalus team is opening up IOHK’s wallet testing program to ada owners. The aim is to seek the help of a broad range of people who can test – on a rolling basis – the latest interface features being readied for the next release version of Daedalus. This will be a fully-functioning version of the wallet, called Daedalus Flight, so you will be able to spend and receive ada…

What the Byron reboot means for Cardano

New code delivers big benefits for the network and Daedalus users as we prepare for Shelley

30 March 2020 Tim Harrison 5 mins read

What the Byron reboot means for Cardano

The Byron reboot is a series of updates to multiple components of the Cardano network. Namely the Cardano node, but also the Cardano explorer, the wallet backend, and the Daedalus wallet itself. The first part of the Byron reboot – a totally new node implementation – has already been deployed to some relay nodes on the network, and the next few weeks will see core network nodes…

Enter the Hydra: scaling distributed ledgers, the evidence-based way

Learn about Hydra: the multi-headed ledger protocol

26 March 2020 Prof Aggelos Kiayias 10 mins read

Enter the Hydra: scaling distributed ledgers, the evidence-based way

Scalability is the greatest challenge to blockchain adoption. By applying a principled, evidence-based approach, we have arrived at a solution for Cardano and networks similar to it: Hydra. Hydra is the culmination of extensive research, and a decisive step in enabling decentralized networks to securely scale to global requirements.

What is scalability and how do we measure it?

Scaling a distributed ledger system refers to the capability of providing high transaction throughput, low latency, and minimal storage per node. These properties have been repeatedly touted as critical for the successful deployment of blockchain protocols as part of real-world systems. In terms of throughput, the VISA network reportedly handles an average of 1,736 payment transactions per second (TPS) with the capability of handling up to 24,000 TPS and is frequently used as a baseline comparison. Transaction…