Cardano has finally launched the highly anticipated Shelley mainnet, which now allows staking pools and delegations for all users who invest in ADA digital currency. Technically, the event that took place on 30 July marks the “hard fork” that amended the blockchain code of Cardano.
The hardfork mainnet Shelley updates the network from the previous iteration, Byron. Going forward, staking on the Shelley mainnet involves holding massive quantities of ADA. The advantage of staking Cardano’s native token on the mainnet is that there’s a big chance to earn even more ADA rewards for validating the blockchain.
Shelley mainnet targeting 1,000 staking pools
Notably, the staking rewards are powered by the Ouroboros protocol, which decides who will add the next block to the Cardano blockchain. In addition, the Shelley hard fork also allows users to operate a functionality referred to as a staking pool, enabling you to stake the crypto of other users on the basis of their interests or to delegate their ADA to another user on their account.
In a press release, the IOHK reported that it expects Shelley’s stake pools to exceed approximately 1,000, based on the number of stake pools delegated during the testnet. About 444 stake pools are currently active on the Shelley mainnet. The pioneering block on the Shelley mainnet was validated on the testnet version of April 27. Typically, testnets do not involve the use of real funds. However, IOHK subsidized Shelley testnet, meaning that the participants were in for the blockchain’s long-term future.
Cardano users to earn 4.63% annually on staked ADA
As per Cardano’s website, users are estimated to earn 4.63 percent annually in interest for staking ADA tokens. However, this figure might change based on the number of participants. The users who will stake their tokens between July 29 and August 3; will be entitled to receive their initial reward on August 18.
Furthermore, the staking functionality of the Cardano blockchain has been under development since 2018. The project invited participants to stake real money on Shelley’s testnet version in December last year; after several months of development. Regardless, the hype seems to have repaid; Cardano blockchain has lured about 14,000 new addresses daily in July.