Cardano: progress on the Alonzo update which will enable smart contracts

Today Cardano announced progress on the Alonzo update, the latest step to enable smart contracts on the Cardano blockchain and bring its new decentralized applications (dApps) to life.

Earlier today on #Cardano360 we shared an update on #AlonzoWhite progress. TLDR #Alonzo rollout on track! More users & increasing functionality. Lots still to do but team & community working closely together to keep it rolling forward!#Cardano
Full video: https://t.co/letiAPI8I8 pic.twitter.com/wqYdhiXGtA

— Input Output (@InputOutputHK) July 29, 2021

“Earlier today on Cardano360 we shared an update on Alonzo White progress. TLDR Alonzo rollout on track! More users & increasing functionality. Lots still to do but team & community working closely together to keep it rolling forward!”

In fact, on the official Cardano Roadmap website, progress on Alonzo, the latest Goguen-era update, is described as follows:

“This week, the team made good progress in Alonzo/Plutus-related changes.

Specifically, they released GraphQL v5.0, Rosetta v1.3.0, and Explorer-app v1.6.0. The team is also preparing to release a wallet update to enable compatibility with Alonzo Node 1.28, and they are working on streamlining cardano-wallet transaction APIs to enable Plutus Application Backend (PAB) integration.

Finally, they are working on several changes required for smart contracts (collateral, script witnesses, etc.)”

Essentially, Cardano’s roadmap outlining the developments and progress of its blockchain has been organized into five eras: Byron, Shelley, Goguen, Basho and Voltaire. Currently, the Cardano team plans to conclude the Goguen epoch after the completion of the three steps of the Alonzo update (Blue, White and Purple). 

The goal of this latest upgrade will be to fully integrate smart contracts, which in turn will allow the creation of Cardano-based dApps. 

Cardano: progress on the blockchain and the ADA price trend

For sure, the Cardano community is eager to see the entire Goguen era come to fruition in order to move forward with the use of its increasingly innovative smart contracts. 

Confirming this support is ADA’s fifth position by market capitalization. With over $40 billion in market cap, in fact, ADA holds a 2.65% dominance of the crypto market.

Moreover, the crypto’s price is following the trend of bitcoin, and although it touched its lowest at $1.05 in February 2021, at the end of this month, the trend actually seems to be looking positive. 

At the time of writing, ADA is worth $1.27 with market volumes only lower than Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Tether (USDT) and Binance Coin (BNB).

These performances are keeping one of the most historic cryptocurrencies relevant over time, in a market that is increasingly being approached by new and revolutionary players. Indeed, with the explosion of the collectible token market, soon after the completion of the Mary update, the first NFTs on the Cardano blockchain had been launched in mid-March.