Core Concepts
These pages cover how value is represented, owned, moved, and priced on Cardano. They are the foundation everything else builds on. You don't need to read all of it before you start building, most build guides link back here when a concept becomes relevant, but if you are new to Cardano, reading it in order pays off.
Recommended reading order
- The eUTXO Model: how Cardano represents and spends value
- Addresses: where value lives and the credentials that guard it
- Keys & Wallets: who controls value, and how wallets manage keys
- Transactions: how value moves
- Transaction Fees: what transactions cost and why
Why these concepts matter
Cardano uses the Extended UTXO (eUTXO) model rather than account balances. That single choice changes how transactions, state, and smart contracts work compared to account-based chains like Ethereum:
- Transactions are deterministic. You know exactly what will happen before you submit.
- Smart contracts validate, they don't act. Scripts approve or reject a proposed transaction.
- Tokens are native. No smart contract is needed for basic token operations.
eUTXO model
How Cardano tracks ownership with the Extended UTXO (eUTXO) model, how it differs from account-based chains, and how to think in eUTXO as a developer.
Addresses
Cardano address structure, address types, and how payment and delegation credentials work.
Keys & Wallets
The identity layer of Cardano, from Ed25519 key pairs and BIP-39 seed phrases to HD derivation, wallet types, and CIP-30.
Transactions
The anatomy of a Cardano transaction, its lifecycle, validity intervals, reference inputs, and CBOR serialization.
Transaction fees
Cardano's deterministic fee formula, script execution costs, and collateral.
The big picture
Cardano was designed with input from a global team of experts in programming languages, network design, and cryptography. If you haven't seen it, the 2017 whiteboard video is still a worthwhile primer on what Cardano is and where it came from (some details have since evolved).