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Layer 1 proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain protocol Cardano (ADA) has revealed the latest developmental activities ongoing on Marlowe, its smart contract development environment. Per the update from Input Output Hong Kong (IOHK), the core team working on the protocol is busy enhancing the run time to create room for more functionality.
The update also added that the team is working on improving the protocol's playground as well as its accompanying explorer. With Marlowe launching on the mainnet recently, the update is a testament to how vibrant the developer ecosystem on Cardano is and the readiness to constantly upgrade the protocol in a bid to serve end users.
Cardano has always prided itself as the next major blockchain network to watch out for. While it boasts of a number of impressive innovations to outcompete its peers, in terms of deliverables and actual on-chain numbers, Cardano still lags behind Ethereum (ETH) and Solana (SOL) as a smart contract-enabled platform.
Take the decentralized finance (DeFi) total value locked (TVL), for instance: while Ethereum's figures stand at $22 billion, Cardano's TVL is pegged at just $162 million. The clear difference is manifested when the total number of smart contracts on both protocols is compared.
Changing status quo
The massive differentials in the size of Ethereum compared to Cardano are poised to change in the long term as the latter is working on improving every aspect of its network. While the Marlowe development will help to boost the proliferation of decentralized applications (dApps) on Cardano, other innovations, including Hydra, also have the potential to tilt the scale in the blockchain's favor in the long term.
Hydra is branded as a Layer 2 scaling solution on Cardano, which compares to zkSync, Arbitrum and Polygon zkEVM that are currently resident on Ethereum. Overall, Cardano is fueling its own unique innovation to scale enterprise adoption and drive usage across the board.
Arman Shirinyan
Yuri Molchan
Alex Dovbnya
