Welcome!

A warm welcome from the Cardano community. If you're new to crypto or Cardano, you're in the right place!

This post will kick start your learning and help you become an informed community member. Please do no post until you have familiarised yourself with the information provided here. It's highly likely your question is already answered here if you're new.

We expect you to be able to help yourself and others by referring to the information here and using the sub's search - please do not expect to be spoon fed basic information!

This post will help you understand:

• how to stay safe from scams

• how to use this subreddit and help yourself - which in turn with help keep the quality of posts to a high standard

• understand the subreddit rules

• learn where to buy ADA

• learn how to store and stake your ada, which wallet to use etc

• learn how to select a stake pool, understand fees and rewards

Subreddit Purpose

The purpose of this post is to inform you about the Cardano project and tips on how to stay safe within the Cardano ecosystem. We want to make sure that every member of our community is up to date regarding Cardano news and updates and receive the best education about their online (crypto) security and safety. We hope that you find the following information useful to get you started and that everyone in our community enjoys their time here.

Please help us make the community a great place for discussion by always working to improve the discussion in some way, however small. Please read the .

Searching the Sub for Answers

Before you make a post, be sure to get in the habit of searching previous posts first.

To search the subreddit, observe the reddit search bar at the top of the page:

Enter your search query, in this case 'staking'. Once you've made the search, you'll see the option to 'show results from ', make sure you click this button (outlined in red below):

On mobile, searching the subreddit you're browsing should happen automatically!

Complementary Cardano Subs

is our main subreddit, but we also have several complementary and community run subreddits in order to help maintain flow of information and adhere to the subreddit rules (outlined later in this guide):

The 'explain like I'm five' subreddit is for newbie questions (how to buy, how staking works, fees etc). Posts explain in detain and in laymans terms the various Cardano and blockchain related topics. Please make sure you read the guidelines on this sub, as it has a very particular format.

Everything Cardano developer related. If you're planning on building in the ecosystem, you'll want to join this sub.

Here you can also learn all about running a pool and get more insight into the pools in the ecosystem. Stakepool advertisement is not allowed on the main sub, so if your an stake pool operator, you'll want to market your pool on the stake pools subreddit.

+ We only allow market discussion in our on the main sub. If you're more interested in price discussion, the trading subreddits are a better alternative.

We don't allow low value content like memes on this sub, instead visit this one.

This guide is split up into sections, each section is paired with a comment command (explained below). Please make use of these commands on the subreddit as an aid to help and inform yourself and others.

Comment Commands

Comment command: ?help

Typing one of the following commands in a comment will have the auto-moderator provide information on the relevant topic:

Command	Topic
?help,?commands	Shows this menu
?start, ?newbie, ?newb	Refers to the getting started post.
?social	Reference to the Cardano social channels
?dyor,?learn	A list of resources to learn about Cardano
?essential,?ecosystem	The Cardano essential list
?buy,?exchanges	Where and how to buy ADA
?wallets	Where and how to store ADA
?staking	Staking information
?pools,?stakepools	Resources to compare stake pools
?fees,?poolfees	Deposit and pool fee information
?rewards,?earn	Information on earning ADA
?scams	Scam and safety information
?support	Technical support
?devs	Some developer resources
?360,?Cardano360	Cardano 360 monthly show info
?vote,?catalyst,?voting	Cardano Catalyst Voting info
?rules	An overview of the sub's rules
?rule# (where '#' = 1-7)	Detailed description of a particular rule

Do Your Own Research

Comment command: ?dyor

Here are some resources to help you learn about Cardano.

The original essay from 2017 outlining the background, philosophy and inspiration behind the Cardano blockchain. By Charles Hoskinson.

Charles' overview of Cardano from 2017.

Charles' explains the plan for Cardano's developer ecosystem.

Cardano's main entry point.

Cardano's 'explain it like I'm five' subreddit.

A overview of the project's different eras.

A information mine. Watch Charles' videos to get the latest insight into the project.

For the above.

Articles about the project from IOHK.

Feeling smart? See how it all works.

A technical update tracker.

There are monthly development updates at the end of each month.

Town halls are updates on Cardano's Project Catalyst - our governance side of the project.

A wide selection of Cardano related youtube channels.

The Essential Cardano List

Comment command: ?essential

The Essential Cardano list provides an outline and accompanying map of the Cardano ecosystem and a central library of materials, which includes official IOG, Cardano Foundation, and Emurgo resources, as well as community-generated materials, and a list of active stake pools.

This list is fully open source so we hope that you can help us to grow and fine tune our recommendations to make our list even better. We encourage you to let us know of new content that is being produced by the community, new relationships, new innovations, so that we can add them all to this list and build out the ecosystem.

The list is hosted in the following github repository:

Cardano's Social Channels

Comment command: ?social

Here is .

Buying ADA

Comment command: ?buy

• An thread on buying ADA.

• View a list of exchanges offering Cardano.

If you're not sure where to buy ADA because of your location, try using the sub's search! Likely someone has already asked. Example: brings up threads to buy in New York.

Storing your ADA

Comment command: ?wallets

Cardano's wallets are:

A full node wallet available on desktop.

A native defi browser ext. wallet.

A light browser based wallet, and mobile app.

A light web wallet.

A light web wallet.

A light web wallet.

A defi web/browser ext. and mobile wallet.

A defi web/browser ext. wallet.

A defi web/browser ext. wallet.

A light desktop/mobile wallet.

A light browser ext/mobile wallet.

A light browser ext wallet.

Atomic Wallet ⚠️ WARNING Atomic wallet has been hacked. Users should stop using this wallet immediately. Please use existing seed phrases to recover the wallet in a different wallet interface, then, create a new seed phrase and send your ADA over from the recovered wallet to the new wallet.

Read the following posts to understand more about wallets:

• Explains the differences between a full node wallet like Daedalus and light wallet like Yoroi.

• Explains wallet interfaces, seed phrases, public + private keys and hardware wallets.

Staking

Comment command: ?staking

You can find many comprehensive threads about staking on our 'explain it like I'm five sub' .

Some posts regarding staking

There are no risks staking on Cardano!

• Your ADA is never locked. You're free send your ADA at any time.

• Your ADA is never moved from your wallet. You will always be in control of your ADA (read the above like 'What does it mean to "stake" your ADA?' to learn more).

• Your rewards are distributed by the protocol, so there's no possibility they can be withheld by a stake pool.

There is no minimum to stake (though there is a staking key deposit of 2 ADA) and any ADA added to your wallet is automatically staked, including rewards (rewards are compounded). You only need to withdraw rewards if you need to send the ADA out of your wallet.

Stake Pools

Comment command: ?pools

Guides to decide which stake pool to delegate to:

Stake pool comparison sites

The community has built many invaluable tools for you to compare stake pool statistics:

When delegating try to:

• Support pools that contribute to the community.

• Use wallets that allow you to select your own pool (like and ).

• Avoid staking with like Binance (It's bad for decentralisation and therefore the project).

Make sure you visit !

Staking Fees

Comment command: ?fees

Staking Key Deposit

When you make a delegation, it will cost you 2 ADA for a staking key deposit, plus the standard transaction fee (usually ~0.17 ADA). The key deposit is something you'll get back if you ever undelegate the wallet.

Stake Pool Fees

Pool fees are commonly misunderstood. Firstly let's clarify that pool fees are not a direct cost to you, the delegator! Fees are simply the pools share of rewards when they are distributed.

Fixed fee

This is a set amount of ADA the pool earns (min. 340 ADA). e.g If the fixed fee = 340 ADA: If a a pool earns 20000 ADA, the pool gets 340 ADA, and it's delegators get 19,600 ADA.

Variable fee (aka pool margin)

The variable fee is a percentage of rewards the pool earns. e.g. If the variable fee = 1%: If a pool earns 20000 ADA, the pool gets 200 ADA, and it's delegators get 19,800 ADA.

Note treasury tax not included in examples for simplicity.

When making a delegation try to:

• Support pools that contribute to the community.

• Use wallets that allow you to select your own pool (like and ).

• Avoid staking with like Binance (It's bad for decentralisation and therefore the project).

Make sure you visit !

Rewards

Comment command: ?rewards

There are 3 incentive mechanisms that allow the community to earn rewards in ADA:

Staking Rewards

Staking is incentivised as it's important for network function as intended. See:

Simply delegate your ADA in a Shelley wallet and you'll earn a passive income!

Note that when you initially delegate, it'll take 15-20 days until you first receive rewards depending on your pool's performance, then every 5 days after (see rewards FAQ).

Your rewards depend on the balance during the epoch snapshot (as detailed in the FAQ). That means:

• Rewards are compounded - rewards are added to your main balance and thus are captured in the next epoch snapshot which goes through the delegation cycle for increased rewards.

• Any additional ADA you add to the wallet increases your rewards (again once the balance has been captured in a snapshot and has gone through the delegation cycle).

Community Advisor Rewards

In you can earn rewards be writing thoughful reviews on proposal projects as a community advisor.

Sign up to the and make sure to read the .

Voting Rewards

Voting is another important part of being a community member, as and ADA holder you hold voting power. Our treasury funds projects proposed on Project Catalyst, and with Voltaire we'll soon be voting on . Voting is incentivised to encourage participation. Be sure to download the Catalyst Voting app on and .

Safety and Scams

Comment command: ?scams

Always be vigilant - especially on Youtube with 'giveaway' scams!

• Never share your recovery seed phrase.

• Never accept advice via direct messages - scammers will prey on you and talk you out of your money. Ask questions publicly!

• Never send your crypto to someone promising to send more back (youtube 'giveaway' scam) -

• Always download wallets from a trusted sources, and be aware there are imitation wallets in app stores - if in doubt, ask!

Please read the following articles to stay secure

Technical Support

Comment command: ?support

• Visit for technical support articles and assistance.

• You can log a technical support issue if you need help with your problem.

We also have a community on the .

• EXCHANGES If you're experiencing issues on an exchange, we ask you please use the exchange's own technical support system.

Note that our subreddit is not the intending place to provide technical support.

Developer Resources

Comment command: ?devs

Be sure to visit our dedicated developers subreddit !

Charles' explains the plan for Cardano's developer ecosystem.

An activity tracker from the main repositories.

Playgrounds

• A scratch style financial contract web-based environment.

• Smart contract web-based environment.

Repositories

• Where the majority of the Cardano repositories reside.

Developers site and docs

Social Channels

Funding

Other

• Node free API

Cardano 360

Comment command: ?360

Cardano 360 is our monthly show, where we'll bring you all the freshest news & feature content from across the ecosystem.

Join your regular hosts Tim Harrison & Aparna Jue, along with guests from across the ecosystem with all the latest updates and deeper dives into the Cardano universe.

Join us in Crowdcast as we all watch along, or catch the stream on YouTube!

Where to Watch

• IOHK on Crowdcast - Participate and chat while you listen!

• IOHK on Youtube.

Catalyst Voting

Comment command: ?vote

Project Catalyst is an experiment in community innovation, providing a framework to turn ideas into impactful real world projects.

Project Catalyst’s Ideascale is where the Cardano community’s ideas come to life. Here, users can browse active campaigns, participate in discussions, and put forward their own ideas for feedback and voting from the community.

Got an Idea? Create an impactful proposal and collaborate with the community to develop and refine it.

Voting in Daedalus and Yoroi

Catalyst Mobile Voting App

Use our voting app to choose ideas with impact worth funding. Get rewarded in ada for taking part.

Social Channels

• Cardano Catalyst Announcements

• Project Catalyst Chat

• Cardano Project Catalyst

FAQ

• IOHK - Catalyst FAQ

NOTE

• Hardware Wallet Voting is currently not supported for Fund4.

• Minimum ADA required to vote for fund 4 is 500 ADA.

The Cardano subreddit rules

Comment command: ?rules

1. Be respectful and polite

2. Keep the discussions Cardano related and add value

3. Scare tactics, hype, FUD & fake news is prohibited

4. No spamming, advertising or low value content

5. Please use the search prior to posting

6. Market discussion/trading/shilling posts are prohibited

7. Introductions must be made in the Daily Thread

To view a particular rule in detail, use the comment command `?rule#` where `#` is the number of a rule.

This post was last updated on 22th May 2023.

Hello everyone,

Welcome to the Cardano Weekly Discussion!

The standard sub rules apply here (see sidebar), with the exception that price discussion is allowed in this thread, though we encourage you to try not to make this the focus and talk about the project itself. Please ask questions, help others and be civil - be sure to get involved in Project Catalyst too!

If you're new, please make sure you're read through the and share it with others (use the ?newbies comment command to reference it).