--- name: cardano-a415b9590b1d slug: cardano version: 1.0.0 description: Assist with Cardano ADA transactions, staking, native tokens, and UTxO model. homepage: https://clawic.com/skills/cardano metadata: clawdbot: emoji: ₳ os: - linux - darwin - win32 displayName: Cardano --- ## UTxO Model (Critical Difference) - Cardano uses UTxO like Bitcoin, not accounts like Ethereum — each transaction consumes and creates outputs - Wallet balance is sum of all UTxOs — not a single account balance - Transaction fees depend on size — more inputs/outputs = higher fee - Change outputs created automatically — transactions consume full UTxOs and return change - Minimum UTxO value required — can't create outputs below threshold (currently ~1 ADA) ## Transaction Characteristics - Transactions are deterministic — you know exact fee before submitting - No failed transactions that consume fees — if it fails, no fee charged - Multi-asset transactions native — send ADA and tokens in same transaction - Metadata can be attached — up to 16KB of arbitrary data ## Native Tokens - Tokens are first-class citizens — not smart contracts, native protocol support - Minting requires policy script — defines who can mint/burn and when - Tokens must be sent with minimum ADA — tokens can't exist alone in UTxO - Policy ID identifies the token — verify policy ID for authenticity - Burning requires same policy script — time-locked policies can't burn after deadline ## Staking - Non-custodial staking — ADA stays in your wallet, fully liquid - Delegate to stake pools — no minimum, no lockup - Rewards every epoch (5 days) — automatic, no claiming required - First rewards appear after 15-20 days — registration and reward delay - Pool saturation affects rewards — overly popular pools give diminishing returns ## Choosing Stake Pools - Pool margin is operator's cut — lower isn't always better, quality matters - Fixed cost (340 ADA minimum) taken before margin — affects small delegators more - Pledge shows operator commitment — higher pledge often indicates reliability - Check pool uptime and block production — missed blocks mean missed rewards - Avoid pools near saturation — rewards decrease above saturation point ## Wallets - Daedalus is full node wallet — downloads entire blockchain, most secure - Yoroi is light wallet — faster, browser extension available - Hardware wallet support — Ledger and Trezor via compatible software - 15 or 24 word seed phrases — don't mix formats between wallets - Staking key separate from spending key — can stake without exposing full access ## Smart Contracts (Plutus) - eUTxO model extends UTxO with data and scripts — different from Ethereum EVM - Transactions must be built off-chain — then submitted to chain - Deterministic execution — same inputs always produce same outputs - Higher collateral requirements — locked ADA returned if transaction succeeds - Script size affects fees — optimize for smaller scripts ## Common Transaction Issues - "Insufficient funds for fee" — need more ADA than just transfer amount - "Minimum UTxO not met" — output too small, must include more ADA - "UTxO too fragmented" — many small UTxOs, consolidate with self-transfer - "Collateral required" — smart contract interaction needs collateral UTxO - "Transaction too large" — too many inputs, split into multiple transactions ## Network and Epochs - Epoch is 5 days — staking rewards and protocol updates follow epoch boundaries - Slot every 1 second — blocks approximately every 20 seconds - Hard forks via Hard Fork Combinator — seamless upgrades without chain splits - Testnet (preprod, preview) for development — free test ADA from faucets ## Security - Seed phrase is everything — never share, never enter online - Verify transaction details on hardware wallet screen — software can lie - Check policy IDs for tokens — scam tokens can have same name as legitimate ones - DApp connections don't expose seed — only public key and signing requests - Stake pool changes take effect after epoch boundary — not instant ## NFTs and Metadata - NFTs are native tokens with quantity 1 — no special contract needed - CIP-25 standard for NFT metadata — JSON metadata with image links - Metadata stored on-chain — permanent and verifiable - IPFS commonly used for images — verify IPFS pinning is permanent - jpg.store, cnft.io for marketplace — verify NFT policies before buying ## Governance - Voltaire era introducing on-chain governance — ADA holders vote on proposals - Project Catalyst for treasury funding — community-voted grants - Constitutional Committee, DReps — delegated representation coming - Staking and governance participation can overlap — same ADA, different roles --- Source attribution: clawic Original project: https://github.com/clawic/skills/blob/f825206afbf1c697202533a9187be68c7b697e0e/skills/cardano/SKILL.md License: MIT License information: https://opensource.org/license/mit Original upstream instructions; downloaded from Mega AI Hub. ## Upstream license notice MIT License Copyright (c) 2026 Ivan G. Davila Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions: The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software. THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE. # Mega AI Hub resource metadata Creator / publisher: clawic Original project: https://github.com/clawic/skills/blob/f825206afbf1c697202533a9187be68c7b697e0e/skills/cardano/SKILL.md Attribution basis: Source repository record Fields of work: Data & Analytics, Finance & Accounting, Marketing, Sales Roles: Business Development, Data Analyst, Financial Analyst, Growth Marketer, Product Marketer Specialties: API Tools: Cardano Country applicability: Country not specified Classification basis: Source catalog labels Instruction SHA-256: a5f57dd29ac8bab0fea92e81f53df52ff7ac451bf390c416890359bc3835b89c