Based on the Ouroboros proof-of-stake consensus protocol, ada is one of the most respected cryptocurrencies, and has one of the highest market capitalizations. Ada, which was launched in 2017, is the currency that will underlie the Cardano smart contract platform.

The Cardano block explorer allows users to see information about the latest transactions. Searches can be made on addresses, transactions, epochs, and slots on the Cardano network.

Daedalus is IOHK's official desktop wallet for Cardano and the ada cryptocurrency. It is a full-function desktop wallet available on Windows, Mac, and Linux.

The Daedalus wallet has the option for a Japanese language user interface and installer. The language is detected automatically based on settings in the operating system.

Unspent transaction output (UTXO) selection optimization has been much debated in blockchain. If a user ends up with too many very small transaction outputs, wallet operation can be inefficient. With too few, some transactions are difficult to execute. IOHK studied and mathematically modelled UTXO selection algorithms to come up with a UTXO coin selection algorithm that delivers the best outcome most often.

The introduction of paper wallets in Cardano provides users with a safe offline 'cold' storage option for ada, making it easy to store and receive ada offline. Users can use their paper wallets for long-term currency deposits, keeping their wallet and private keys offline.

Yoroi is a light wallet for Cardano which is developed and promoted by Emurgo. Unlike the Daedalus wallet, Yoroi does not download the entire blockchain to verify transactions but instead references a secure central server which has a full copy of the blockchain. Private keys are encrypted on the user's machine and not shared with servers, allowing people to transact quickly and securely for day-to-day use. Yoroi is available as a Chrome extension, or as a mobile app via the AppStore or Google Play. Yoroi also supports the Ledger Nano hardware wallet. It was known initially as Project Icarus while it was being developed in IOHK.

Cardano and ada support Ledger hardware wallets for secure ada storage. Ledger support is provided by both the Yoroi and AdaLite wallets.

Cardano SL 1.3 included enhancements to speed up syncing of the blockchain. Tests have shown wallet syncing occurring between 1.5 and 4 times faster, depending on the network environment. Network relays can now also support more users syncing at once, which will reduce congestion at busy times.

More efficient storage improves performance for operations that use locally stored blockchain data, especially wallet restoration and blockchain synchronization. Optimization will also reduce the amount of hard drive space on a user’s device that is required to store the blockchain. While this stage of optimization is complete, there will be even more to come as part of additional rearchitecting work.

The Cardano testnet is a free-to-use blockchain that is designed for testing purposes. It runs code that is the latest Byron release version. Cardano users – such as exchanges, developers, and the regular community – can use the testnet to test in a production-like environment off the main blockchain, since the testnet has the same functionality, integration capabilities, and properties as the Cardano production environment. The testnet also enables us to receive pre-release feedback from users to help us make improvements.

It is now possible for users to submit bug reports and any supporting log files directly from within the Daedalus application. Not only will this improve the technical support that can be provided to individuals, it will also allow support and development teams to identify and fix broader issues more efficiently.

Performance improvements made to the code allow exchanges to handle higher levels of activity. By enabling exchanges to make withdrawals for multiple users in a single transaction, they can serve more users with the same fixed volume of transactions. Exchanges can make use of a new exchange API to support this feature, and work has been done to revise old APIs to better integrate with exchanges and make ada accessible to more people.

Based on requests from exchanges, Cardano has added new interface capability for exchanges. For larger, higher volume exchanges, it is now possible to create and sign transactions offline. Further, a full set of interfaces is provided for querying the chain and interacting with the node.

The creation of a Daedalus wallet support desk allows IOHK to provide troubleshooting and technical support to users who are encountering problems, ensuring that they have an optimal Daedalus experience. It also allows for better handling and logging of bugs, which can then be passed to the development team to be fixed.

The exchange support team has been created to provide additional support and a direct point of contact for exchange users to communicate with IOHK. Necessarily, exchanges have more complex needs than normal users, and play a vital role in allowing people to purchase ada and join the Cardano ecosystem. The exchange support team ensures that exchanges can resolve any issues quickly, as well as providing a channel for exchanges to make feature requests.

IOHK has set up 24/7 monitoring for the Cardano network and node operations using the open-source monitoring system Prometheus. This enables extensive live monitoring and improved response times to all kinds of operational and performance issues.

The introduction of Nix tooling into the internal development processes of IOHK has allowed the DevOps team to create more robust deployment pipelines, improving the efficiency and speed of development testing and deployment. Additionally, the nature of Nix and NixOS enables some of the benefits of functional programming - such as pure functions and easy unit testing - to be applied across DevOps.

IOHK creative coders designed and implemented the Symphony of Blockchains, a blockchain data visualization engine. This radical combination of digital art and data analysis can be used to help understand the blockchain network and chain data through an immersive audiovisual experience.