Aiken is a new programming language and toolchain for developing smart contracts on the <a href="https://cardano.org/">Cardano(opens in a new tab)</a> blockchain.This page gives an overview of the project goals and values, as well an idea of the roadmap we're pursuing. The rest of the book contains useful information for getting started with and deep diving into Aiken (both the language, and the toolkit).Welcome, and enjoy. &nbsp;

large_1500x500

medium_1500x500

small_1500x500

thumbnail_1500x500

1500x500

thumbnail_UT5je2FI_400x400.jpg

UT5je2FI_400x400.jpg

aiken

<div>
						<div><a target="_blank" href="https://blocknews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Cardanos-2023-Report-Sparks-Optimism-ADA-Price-Analysis.jpg"><img srcset="https://blocknews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Cardanos-2023-Report-Sparks-Optimism-ADA-Price-Analysis-750x375.jpg 750w, https://blocknews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Cardanos-2023-Report-Sparks-Optimism-ADA-Price-Analysis-360x180.jpg 360w, https://blocknews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Cardanos-2023-Report-Sparks-Optimism-ADA-Price-Analysis-1140x570.jpg 1140w" src="https://blocknews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Cardanos-2023-Report-Sparks-Optimism-ADA-Price-Analysis-750x375.jpg" alt="Cardano's 2023 Report Sparks Optimism: Ada Price Analysis" title="Cardano's 2023 Report Sparks Optimism: Ada Price Analysis" /></a></div>
						<div>
<ul>
<li>Cardano’s ADA token price rose 5% over the past 24 hours to $0.7362 on November 18th</li>
<li>The Cardano Foundation’s 2023 financial report revealed spending details on adoption, education, and operational resilience</li>
<li>Increasing on-chain activity and total value locked on the Cardano network are boosting ADA’s price</li>
</ul>
<a target="_blank" href="https://cardano.org/">Cardano’s</a> ADA token has been on the rise recently, gaining over 5% in the last 24 hours. A few key factors are driving the bullish momentum behind this top 10 cryptocurrency.
<h3>Cardano Foundation discloses 2023 figures</h3>
On November 13th, the <a target="_blank" href="https://blocknews.com/cardano-foundation-reports-478-million-in-assets-and-19-million-in-spending/" title="Cardano Foundation Reports $478 Million in Assets and $19 Million in Spending">Cardano</a> Foundation published its financial report for 2023, highlighting key investments made in adoption, education, and operational resilience.
The report revealed that the Foundation spent $129.2 million on adoption efforts, including launching <a href="https://aiken-lang.org/" target="_blank" title>Aiken</a>, an open-source programming language for Cardano. It invested $41.8 million in education through initiatives like the Cardano Summit 2023 and Cardano Academy.
The Foundation also closed out 2023 with asset holdings valued at $478.24 million, including $825.39 million worth of ADA tokens.
<figure><img title="Tempimagevxvp1a" src="https://blocknews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/tempImagevXvP1a.heic" alt /></figure>
<h3>Increasing on-chain activity boosts ADA price</h3>
Cardano’s network <a target="_blank" href="https://blocknews.com/cardano-whale-transactions-hit-record-high-surging-investor-interest/" title="Cardano Whale Transactions Hit Record High, Surging Investor Interest">activity</a> continues to grow, with nearly 100 million transactions processed to date. There are now over 1.3 million delegated wallets and nearly 2,000 projects building on Cardano.
Total value locked (TVL) on <a target="_blank" href="https://blocknews.com/pepe-price-surges-as-robinhood-adds-meme-coin-to-listings-and-relists-solana-cardano-and-xrp/" title="PEPE Price Surges as Robinhood Adds Meme Coin to Listings and Relists Solana, Cardano, and XRP">Cardano</a> has also jumped 101% recently to $470.7 million as of November 18th. This increasing utility and demand is driving up the price of ADA.
<h3>ADA bull flag targets $1.11</h3>
From a technical perspective, <a target="_blank" href="https://blocknews.com/the-impact-of-government-partnerships-on-cardano/" title="How Cardano’s Government Partnership Could Lead to ADA Mass Adoption">ADA</a> has formed a bull flag pattern on the 4-hour chart following a sharp price increase. This suggests the rally may continue to $1.11, which would mark a return to April 2022 levels.
<div>ADA’s daily RSI is still in neutral territory, indicating the chance of a major pullback is relatively low in the short term.In addition, sentiment analysis is growing within the Cardano community every day. Speculation on various rumors, such as a government partnership, collaboration with Ripple XRP, and more, is increasing the interest of ADA investors, both new and old. In conclusion, things are starting to look bullish for ADA.</div>
															</div>
									</div>

BlockNews

Cardano’s 2023 Financial Report Sparks Optimism; ADA Price Analysis – BlockNews.com

<div>
						<div><a target="_blank" href="https://blocknews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/cardano-break.webp"><img srcset="https://blocknews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/cardano-break-750x375.webp 750w, https://blocknews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/cardano-break-360x180.webp 360w, https://blocknews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/cardano-break-1140x570.webp 1140w" src="https://blocknews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/cardano-break-750x375.webp" alt="Cardano Price Surges Again, Leading to a 30-month High" title="Cardano Price Surges Again, Leading to a 30-month High" /></a></div>
						<div>
<ul>
<li>Cardano’s ADA rose to $0.762, peaking at $0.820 on November 16, its highest in 30 months.</li>
<li>Cardano Foundation’s 2023 report revealed $19.22 million spent on adoption, education, and resilience efforts.</li>
<li>Total value locked in Cardano grew by 101% in two weeks, signaling increased ecosystem engagement.</li>
</ul>
Cardano’s native token, ADA, climbed 5% over the last 24 hours, trading at $0.762 on November 18. This rise follows a two-week rally that saw the token reach $0.820 on November 16, marking its highest level in 30 months. Increased on-chain activity and strategic investments in the ecosystem are believed to have contributed to the price growth.
<h3>Cardano Foundation Details Investments and Achievements</h3>
The Cardano Foundation’s <a href="https://cardanofoundation.org/blog/financial-insights-report-2023" target="_blank" title>financial report for 2023</a>, published on November 13, highlighted $19.22 million allocated to adoption initiatives, educational projects, and operational improvements. Specific achievements include the launch of Aiken, a programming tool designed to simplify smart contract development, and the Cardano Summit 2023 in Dubai, which underscored the foundation’s focus on education and regulatory clarity.
The report also revealed that Cardano closed the year with an asset portfolio valued at $478.24 million, primarily held in ADA tokens. CEO Frederik Gregaard emphasized transparency in resource allocation and the foundation’s role in advancing blockchain as a public utility.
<figure><img title="Image" src="https://blocknews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/image-210-1024x499.png" alt srcset="https://blocknews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/image-210-1024x499.png 1024w, https://blocknews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/image-210-300x146.png 300w, https://blocknews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/image-210-768x374.png 768w, https://blocknews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/image-210-1536x749.png 1536w, https://blocknews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/image-210-2048x998.png 2048w, https://blocknews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/image-210-750x366.png 750w, https://blocknews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/image-210-1140x556.png 1140w" /></figure>
Source: <a href="https://www.tradingview.com/x/OZpopuLe/" target="_blank" title>TradingView</a>
<h3>Network Activity and Price Momentum</h3>
Cardano’s blockchain has recorded 99.07 million transactions since its inception, reflecting growing adoption and activity within its ecosystem. Recent data from Input Output Global shows an expanding network, with over 10.5 million native tokens and nearly 2,000 projects under development.
The total value locked (TVL) in the <a target="_blank" href="https://blocknews.com/cardano-whale-transactions-hit-record-high-surging-investor-interest/" title="Cardano Whale Transactions Hit Record High, Surging Investor Interest">Cardano network</a> surged by 101%, rising from $233 million on November 6 to $470.7 million by November 18, according to DefiLlama. Analysts link this rise in TVL to increased demand for ADA tokens, contributing to the ongoing bullish price movement.
From a technical standpoint, ADA’s price is forming a bull flag pattern, suggesting a potential continuation toward $1.11—a level last seen in April 2022. With a neutral relative strength index of 59, the likelihood of a major pullback appears limited, reinforcing optimism for further growth.
															</div>
									</div>

Cardano Price Surges Again, Leading to a 30-Month High; Breakout to $1 Incoming?

The upcoming Cardano-Bitcoin bridge, based on the Grail protocol, may be a first step toward providing decentralized finance (DeFi) applications that are secured by Bitcoin, documents from the bridge’s underlying protocol reveal.On Oct. 24, Emurgo, the development team backing Cardano, <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/cardano-integrates-bitcoin-os-to-enable-trustless-btc-in-de-fi-apps">announced that it was developing</a> the bridge in partnership with Grail’s developer, BTCOS.In an X post on the following day, Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson <a href="https://x.com/IOHK_Charles/status/184985894682951683">clarified</a> that the network will eventually host DeFi applications secured by Bitcoin, adding that, “With babel fees, Bitcoin developers can develop Hybrid Cardano/Bitcoin applications in Aiken and pay their transaction fees in bitcoin.”The post was deleted on Nov. 16, but similar statements from Hoskinson were <a href="https://x.com/Al0world/status/1856390994201280639">recorded</a> by X user Al’O and shared through his channel.Some Bitcoin users were skeptical of the idea that DeFi apps could be secured by the Bitcoin network.Critics claimed that earlier “Bitcoin layer 2s” <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/bitcoin-layer2-sidechains-not-really-bitcoin-l2s/">didn’t allow users to withdraw</a> their Bitcoin without the consent of the network’s operator and suspected that the new Cardano/Bitcoin hybrid network would be more of the same.Still, documents for Grail show that it does allow Bitcoin users to withdraw from Cardano without the consent of its validators.<h2 style="margin-left:0px;">Smart contracts on Bitcoin</h2>Grail was inspired by an earlier idea called “BitVM,” described by developer Robin Linus in a 2023 white paper.The paper <a href="https://bitvm.org/bitvm.pdf">proposed</a> that a Bitcoin “optimistic rollup,” similar to Ethereum’s Optimism, Base or Arbitrum, could be created by having a server that commits to either a “0” or “1” for each bit of data stored. It said that simple games like chess, go or poker could be run on Bitcoin using this system.<img src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-11/01933503-6ab4-7c75-aeea-3e25089c79d6" alt="">An example of a BitVM logic circuit on Bitcoin, used to create smart contracts. Source: BitVM white paper.The Grail white paper, published in April, <a href="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/661e3b1622f7c56970b07a4c/662a7a89ce097389c876db57_BitSNARK__Grail.pdf">said</a> that Grail “builds on the BitVM paradigm,” and the original BitVM system created billions of complex transactions that would ultimately make its bridge impractical to use.To reduce the complexity, Grail uses zero-knowledge (ZK) proofs to shrink the amount of data that needs to be stored on Bitcoin.&nbsp;The end result is a system that allows users to deposit Bitcoin into the layer-2 network without needing to trust that network’s security. In this case, it means that users could withdraw their Bitcoin <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/bitcoin-price">BTC$91,095</a> from Cardano even if Cardano’s nodes were taken over by a malicious actor.<h2 style="margin-left:0px;">Creating hybrid apps may take a long time</h2>Even after the bridge is implemented, developing DeFi apps secured by Bitcoin may take a while. In his now-deleted X post, Hoskinson said developers would need to be trained in Cardano’s Aiken programming language to create these hybrid Bitcoin/Cardano apps.Since most Ethereum DeFi developers are trained in Solidity, this implies that new apps can’t be created by just cutting and pasting ones from Ethereum. They’ll have to be written from scratch.<img src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-11/01933504-38bc-722a-9eef-a126336b6287" alt="">Aiken programming language documentation. Source: Aiken.In the recording posted by Al’O, Hoskinson said, “It’s going to be an enormous amount of work, it’s a very heavy lift, and there’s going to be wallet integrations and all of these things that have to happen.” He went on to say that the work was worth it because “there’s $1.5 trillion in the Bitcoin space.”<h2 style="margin-left:0px;">Withdrawals can still be blocked</h2>Cointelegraph spoke to Edan Yago, co-founder of Grail developer BTC OS. Yago said that withdrawals from the bridge could still be blocked if 100% of its verifiers collude maliciously.“In order to take over the Grail system maliciously, you would need to own 100% of the nodes,” he said.Still, he said, this is “a stronger security assumption than Bitcoin,” since Bitcoin only relies only on the assumption that the “majority of miners [or hash power]” are honest.In Yago’s view, the bridge has better security than current Bitcoin pegging systems, and creating a more secure system is necessary because trillions of dollars worth of capital is tied up in Bitcoin. He added:“Most BTC is latent today because holders don’t want to trust third-party centralized entities that provide bridging/wrapping to other blockchains. We believe that a vault or a bridge like Grail — secured by zero-knowledge cryptography and a network of Bitcoin miners — could be the safest crypto native vault solution that holders will more readily rely on before putting their BTC to work.”<h2 style="margin-left:0px;">OP_CAT as an alternative for Bitcoin DeFi</h2>Grail is not the only solution that attempts to secure DeFi apps using the Bitcoin network. Another option, called “OP_CAT” also claims to provide this benefit. Still, it would require a soft fork of the Bitcoin node software, which some Bitcoin nodes are reluctant to do.Even so, StarkWare CEO Eli Ben Sasson has advocated for the change and predicted that it will go live “within the next 12 months.”When asked about OP_CAT, Yago said that its implementation “does not materially change the security assumptions of the bridge.”&nbsp;He doesn’t support adding OP_CAT to Bitcoin, since he believes that it is “quite risky.” He said:<blockquote>“OP_CAT can quickly become very cumbersome in terms of transaction size, and even chains like Fractal that have created a Bitcoin fork with OP_CAT activated are finding that it brings its own complexities to solve.”</blockquote>Even so, he said that if OP_CAT were implemented, it “might change the architecture of how one can do zk verification on Bitcoin, but it [wouldn’t] materially change how the bridge would work.”

Cointelegraph

Cardano-Bitcoin bridge may be first step to true Bitcoin DeFi

[Zug, Switzerland, November 13, 2024] – Cardano Foundation, an independent, Swiss-based not-for-profit organization tasked with advancing the public digital infrastructure Cardano, launched its first <a href="https://ucarecdn.com/a8efed51-3bb9-46e9-aecb-9db64975c891/">Financial Insights Report</a> today. The report is an important milestone in its ongoing commitment to uphold the principles of openness, integrity, and community engagement. Complementing the <a href="https://cardanofoundation.org/blog/cardano-foundation-launches-2023-activity-report">Activity Report</a> published earlier this year, the Financial Insights Report details how the Foundation directed its funds and the tangible impact it made across its three core focus areas: operational resilience, education, and adoption.Frederik Gregaard, CEO of the Cardano Foundation, said, "This report represents a natural evolution of our open-source philosophy, where transparency is not merely a concept but a core principle we wholeheartedly embrace. This report highlights the importance of accountability, disclosing the allocation of our resources, and how they help advance Cardano as a public digital utility across a wide range of industries. We have 100+ employees working with institutions, businesses, regulators, and policymakers to solve societal and enterprise challenges in new ways across 25 countries."In 2023, the Cardano Foundation allocated $19.22M across the Foundation’s three mutually reinforcing focus areas of operational resilience, education, and adoption. Additionally, $4.55M was dedicated to central operational costs as the Cardano Foundation expanded its capacity to support and drive forward key initiatives. Each investment reflects its commitment to building a robust and sustainable ecosystem.In keeping with its central mission of bridging Cardano and the world by working to progress Cardano as a public digital utility, the Cardano Foundation has focused intensively on scaling the diversity, quality, and quantity of activities on Cardano. To achieve economic escape velocity for Cardano, on-chain activities must include a balanced mix of legacy and blockchain-native use cases. Scaling the diversity, quality, and quantity of activities on Cardano is core to the Foundation’s mission. This goal faces several hurdles, from the cost and complexity of implementation and ownership to a lack of comfort with blockchain. The Cardano Foundation addresses such gaps with targeted initiatives on operational resilience, education, and adoption. Highlights from the 2023 Transparency Report include:Financial Summary As of 31st December 2023, the Cardano Foundation’s assets amounted to $478.24M, of which 82.5% was held in ADA, 10.1% in BTC, and the remainder as USD liquidity. The Cardano Foundation was funded by the aforementioned initial endowment in ADA and a proportion of the proceeds from the distribution of ADA vouchers. The Foundation has and continues to utilize these assets to fund activities aligned with its statutory purpose and mission. Constituted as a Swiss foundation, the Cardano Foundation’s efforts are driven by a long-term view, prioritizing the resilience, adoption, and longevity of the Cardano blockchain and its ecosystem without the pressure of short-term financial goals or shareholder value interests.Operational Resilience Operational Resilience, which encompasses all efforts to improve Cardano’s suitability and recognition as an infrastructure component of institutional-grade use cases, received $2.12M for its share of expenses. The Foundation bolsters the Cardano infrastructure's resilience, reliability, and durability and works towards a broader understanding of blockchain and its associated opportunities and risks. Highlights include:<ul><li>•Ran network without interruption for more than 2,000 days</li><li>•Tested decentralized governance mechanism with an SPO and the University of Zurich</li><li>•Supported the Valentine hard fork that brought improved interoperability</li><li>•Launched own block producer, refined stake pool delegation, and implemented continuous network monitoring</li></ul>Education Education, which contributes to information on and legal certainty for third-generation blockchains, received $4.18M for its share of expenses, promoting discussion and debate, supporting research, and explaining blockchain concepts to diverse stakeholders. During 2023, the Cardano Foundation continued its work to provide reliable information to support regulatory clarity, contribute to blockchain research, and encourage enterprise adoption, as well as the diversity of the developer community. Highlights include:<ul><li>•Launched the Cardano Academy, Cardano Explorer, and ‘Let’s Talk Cardano’ webinar</li><li>•Hosted the Cardano Summit 2023 in Dubai</li></ul>Adoption Adoption, which drives use of Cardano by businesses, organizations, and other institutions by creating the conditions for increased utility while also reducing the adoption and running costs through improved tooling, received $12.92M for its share of expenses, contributing to the longevity of the Cardano development ecosystem, including by fostering open source. During the year, the funds were directed to the Foundation’s ongoing efforts to drive adoption of Cardano by supporting the development of use cases to demonstrate its wide-ranging utility and tools for the community to leverage Cardano in different ways. Highlights include:<ul><li>•Developed Identify Wallet and Ledger Sync to support enterprise-grade Cardano applications</li><li>•Launched open-source programming language Aiken to simplify smart contract development</li><li>•Optimized SPO rewards, upgraded Kupo and Ogmios, and improved Cardano Ballot to enable a customizable</li><li>•Collaborated with the Global Impact Challenge with Switzerland for UNHCR and the Georgian wine industry.</li></ul>The Cardano Foundation will publish its next Activity Report 2024 in Q1 of 2025, providing detailed insights into the initiatives and accomplishments of 2024.<a href="https://ucarecdn.com/a8efed51-3bb9-46e9-aecb-9db64975c891/">Read the Financial Insights 2023 Report now.</a>

aiken ($)

Cardano smart contract language and toolchain

Related Projects

World Mobile Token

dcSpark

Adadomains.io

Featured News