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- Cardano has made significant advancements with the Valentine upgrade and the implementation of zippier P2P nodes.
- The upgrades focus on improving interoperability, scalability, and sustainability of the Cardano blockchain.
Valentine Upgrade Enhances Interoperability
The Valentine upgrade, introduced in February, brings improvements to Cardano’s smart contract capabilities and extends its compatibility with other blockchains. By adding support for the SECP256k1 curve, widely used by Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Binance Coin, Cardano improves interoperability with these leading blockchains. This upgrade enables developers creating decentralized applications (DApps) on Cardano to use additional types of signatures, such as ECDSA and Schnorr, for data verification.
In this blog, we summarize the subtle yet impactful improvements made so far this year in #Cardano's core areas of interoperability, scalability, and sustainability.https://t.co/I0od7Czu38
— Input Output (@InputOutputHK) May 11, 2023
These changes enhance efficiency, save time and money for developers, and contribute to the growing number of Plutus scripts running on Cardano.
Scaling Cardano with Hydra Technology
Scalability is a key focus for Cardano, and the implementation of Hydra technology addresses this challenge. Hydra acts as a layer 2 protocol on top of Cardano, allowing developers to create mini-blockchains called “heads” for specific functions. This approach speeds up processing time, reduces transaction costs, and frees up the main blockchain.
IOG and MLabs are collaborating on an auction project that demonstrates the power of Hydra technology, while Obsidian Systems is integrating Hydra for payment solutions.
Enhancing Network Sustainability with Dynamic P2P Communication
Sustainability is essential for a long-term functioning blockchain, and Cardano prioritizes decentralization to achieve this goal. Peer-to-peer (P2P) communication ensures decentralized network connectivity, allowing relay nodes operated by Cardano’s stake pool operators to interact directly with each other. The recent release of Cardano node software (versions 1.35.6 and 1.35.7) introduces Dynamic P2P, automating the communication process between nodes.
This automation eliminates the need for manual configuration and enables nodes to find new peers across the internet in the event of network failures, slowdowns, or attacks. Dynamic P2P enhances network security, resilience, and efficiency by minimizing block diffusion time and optimizing node connections based on quality measurements.
Advancing Towards a Decentralized Finance System
Cardano’s progress in interoperability, scalability, and network resilience contributes to its vision of a decentralized financial (DeFi) system accessible to all. Djed, a stablecoin on Cardano, launched in January, attracting significant backing and becoming available on multiple exchanges. Djed’s stability is supported by six ada, and it unlocks DeFi opportunities within the Cardano ecosystem, including settling payments and covering fees.
Alongside technological advancements, IOG has expanded its training offerings through the IOG Academy, benefiting both programmers and individuals in the finance sector. By supporting developers and promoting decentralized finance, Cardano aims to make the path to global decentralized finance easier for the world.