I'm reading up on Cardano and ADA and figured I'd post this for other newcomers

[Section 1: What is Ada?]

[A. Ada Is The Native Token of Cardano]
  • Ada is the Native Token of the Cardano Blockchain

  • ADA Token is named after Augusta Ada Lovelace.

    • Ada
      • Born 10.December.1815 [Piccadilly Terrace, Middlesex, England]
      • Died 27.November.1852 [Saint Marylebone, England]
      • Original name was August Ada Byron aka Lady Byron - she is the daughter of Lord Byron and Annabella Milbanke Byron
      • later known as Ada Lovelace or Ada King, countess of Lovelace
      • an associate of Charles Babbage, Ada wrote a program for Mr. Babbage’s prototype digital computer

    [B. What Can I Do With Ada?]

  • ADA Token serves as a digital currency (or cryptocurrency) allowing peer-to-peer transactions with the exclusion of a required trust or third party to facilitate the transaction.

  • As with the nature of the Blockchain, every transaction is captured and stored within the Cardano Blockchain providing an immutable ledger and history of the ADA Tokens.

  • EVERY ADA Token holder holds a stake within the Cardano network, ADA Token holders can also delegate their tokens to a staking pool to earn rewards

  • with the growth of the platform, Cardano will utilize ADA Tokens for services that will be added to the platform.

    [C. How Do I Buy/Sell Ada?]

  • Utilizing cryptocurrency exchanges, Coinmarketcap (https://coinmarketcap.com/) is recommended by the official site (Cardano | What Is Ada?) to locate exchanges that support the ADA Token.

  • Security of your funds is vital and important!
    I. Keep your private keys private.
    II. It is a discouraged practice to keep your funds in any exchange longer than is necessary
    III. ADA Token holders is recommended by the official site to utilize a cryptocurrency wallet with the following recommendations;
    i. Full-node wallet such as “Daedalus” (Daedalus - Downloads)
    *Daedalus Wallet;
    A full-node desktop wallet developed by IOHK (https://iohk.io/). Daedalus downloads a full copy of the Cardano Blockchain and independently validates every transaction in its history. This provides maximum security and completely trustless operation, without centrally hosted third-party servers.
    Works with Windows, macOS and Linux
    *Yoroi Wallet;
    EMURGO’s(https://emurgo.io/) light wallet for Cardano. With this light wallet you do not need to download a full copy of the blockchain’s history.
    ii. or Browser-based “Yoroi” (https://yoroi-wallet.com/)

    [D. How Do I Store My Ada And Keep It Safe?]

  • A Cryptocurrency wallet is a software program designed to provide the following benefits to the user;
    I. Storage of your Public and Private Keys
    II. Send and Receive digital currencies
    III. Monitor your balance
    IV. Interact with supported blockchains

  • In addition to the different variations of wallets, there are also two types of wallets a user can choose;
    I. Hot Wallet
    * Always connected to the internet and can be accessed at any time with the required keys. (examples of Hot Wallets include Mobile wallets, Software Wallets [Such as Daedalus], and exchanges)
    II. Cold Wallet
    * Offline wallet not connected to the internet. this is used for securely storing funds that you do not frequently access.
    (examples of Cold Wallets include Hardware Wallets [Such as Ledger] that stores the wallets private keys. and Paper Wallets which are piece of paper containing the Public and Private keys, A word of caution from the user of this post - Paper Wallets are extremely risky. if you damage the paper, or lose it or destroy it then you will forever lose your funds. Utilize Paper Wallets at your own comfort level and risk, research what it is you’re doing with Paper Wallets before utilizing this method if you are new.)

[Resources]