Cardano is a highly ambitious and innovative blockchain platform that aims to create a more decentralized and sustainable financial system. Developed by a team led by Charles Hoskinson, one of the co-founders of Ethereum, it is built on a scientific philosophy with a research-first approach to its development. The IOHK (Input Output Hong Kong) research organization runs the project, which has a team of academic researchers and engineers working on the platform.

One of the key features of Cardano is its use of a layered architecture, which separates the settlement layer and the computation layer. This allows for greater flexibility and scalability, enabling the platform to support smart contracts and decentralized applications (dapps) more efficiently. The platform also uses a proof-of-stake consensus algorithm called Ouroboros, which is more energy-efficient than traditional proof-of-work algorithms.

Cardano also strongly emphasizes security and regulatory compliance, making it a popular choice for enterprise use cases. It is also known for its governance model, which is based on a stakeholder voting system, allowing holders of the native cryptocurrency ADA to vote on proposed protocol changes. This allows the community to have a say in the direction and development of the platform, making it more decentralized and democratic.

In addition to these features, Cardano also aims to address some of the scalability and governance challenges other blockchain platforms face. It can achieve high performance and scalability by utilizing a layered architecture and a proof-of-stake consensus algorithm. And by allowing for community participation in the platform's governance, it can address some of the centralization issues plaguing other blockchain projects.

Overall, Cardano is a cutting-edge blockchain platform that aims to create a more decentralized and sustainable financial system while also addressing some of the scalability and governance challenges other blockchain platforms face. With its unique architecture, advanced consensus algorithm, and democratic governance model, it has the potential to revolutionize the world of blockchain and cryptocurrency.

To code smart contracts on the Cardano (ADA) blockchain, you need to be familiar with the Plutus programming language. Plutus is a purely functional programming language based on Haskell, which is a popular and well-established programming language known for its safety, security, and mathematical precision.

Plutus is designed to be a secure and expressive language for writing smart contracts and decentralized applications on the Cardano blockchain. It is a high-level language that supports functional programming concepts, such as higher-order functions, algebraic data types, and lazy evaluation. Plutus also includes a number of built-in libraries and frameworks that make it easy to write complex smart contracts and applications.

In addition to Plutus, you will also need to be familiar with the Cardano blockchain and its architecture. Cardano is a proof-of-stake blockchain that uses the Ouroboros consensus algorithm to validate transactions and secure the network. Cardano is also designed to be highly scalable and sustainable, with a number of features and tools to help developers build and deploy smart contracts and applications.

To start smart contract development on Cardano, you can visit the Cardano documentation, which provides comprehensive tutorials and examples to help you learn the Plutus language and the Cardano blockchain. There are also a number of online communities and resources that can provide additional support and guidance for smart contract development on Cardano.