What is Cardano?
Summary
Cardano is a blockchain for transferring assets and running applications. It can handle user-created assets directly in its ledger; ADA pays fees and supports delegation and governance.
- Cardano’s ledger can move user-created assets without a separate token contract.
- ADA pays fees and can be delegated to a stake pool or used in governance.
- Virtune Staked Cardano ETP is physically backed by ADA and manages staking within the product.
What can Cardano's ledger hold?
Cardano is a blockchain for transferring digital assets and running apps. Suppose an organiser issues a digital ticket. The ticket can change owner in Cardano's ledger, while an app can add rules about how it is sold or used. A distinctive feature is that user-created assets can be handled directly by the ledger1. Issuing and moving the ticket does not require a separate smart contract just to represent the asset.
Apps can still use smart contracts for more involved rules. The difference between a ledger-held asset and an app's rules helps explain Cardano's design. It also separates the ticket from ADA, the network's own crypto-asset.
What does ADA do?
Fees are paid in ADA2 when a transaction uses the network. Cardano uses proof of stake3 to select participants that produce blocks. An ADA holder can delegate to a stake pool4 while keeping the ability to use the ADA; the pool operator performs the block-production work. ADA holders can also vote or delegate voting power5 in network decisions.
These are three different roles: paying for a transfer, supporting block production and taking part in governance. Whether an app's ticket is useful does not itself decide ADA's price.
ADA directly or through an ETP
Direct ADA can pay fees and participate in network functions, with a wallet or chosen custodian. Virtune Staked Cardano ETP instead gives ADA price exposure through a security. It is physically backed with ADA held as collateral6; the investor owns the ETP, not ADA in a personal wallet.
Staking is managed within the product. Under its Final Terms, investors receive up to 75% of staking rewards, capped at an annual rate7 of no more than 2% before the investor fee. The limit is a cap; actual rewards may be lower or absent. Rewards vary and are added within the product rather than paid to an account as interest.
The product is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm and Nasdaq Helsinki.
Costs when buying Virtune Staked Cardano ETP
| Cost | Charged by | When |
|---|---|---|
| Brokerage commission | Broker | On every purchase and sale |
| Difference between bid and ask price | Market | On every trade |
| Management fee, 1.49% per year | Issuer | Ongoing, from the product's value |
| Currency conversion | Broker, if applicable | If the product trades in another currency |
Risks to understand
ADA can lose value even when network use grows. Staking rewards may vary or not arise and need not offset a price fall. Direct holding requires wallet or custody decisions; the ETP adds issuer, custody and exchange-trading risks. Crypto-assets can lose substantial value8.
Related product
Sources
- Cardano Foundation: Native tokens
- Cardano: Cardano protocol parameters reference guide
- Cardano: Introduction to Cardano
- Cardano: Delegation
- Cardano: Governance overview
- Virtune Investor Relations: Collateralization Methodology
- Virtune: Final Terms: Virtune Staked Cardano ETP, 2 April 2026
- EBA, EIOPA and ESMA (the European Supervisory Authorities): EU financial regulators warn consumers on the risks of crypto-assets
