Cardano Support

We’re excited to share that Cardano is now fully integrated into the Dfns Wallet-as-a-Service platform as a Tier-1 blockchain. This means full wallet support for ADA and Cardano’s native tokens. Developers and institutions building on Cardano can now use Dfns to access secure, programmable wallet infrastructure with the same Tier-1 experience we already deliver on 100+ blockchains.

What is Cardano and why it stands out

Cardano is an open-source blockchain platform built to serve as a global financial and governance system. It was developed with a strong focus on research, peer review, and formal verification, giving it a reputation for security, scalability, and sustainability.

Unlike account-based blockchains like Ethereum, Cardano uses an extended UTxO model (eUTxO), based on Bitcoin’s design. Each transaction consumes and creates outputs, and the extension allows smart contracts to run deterministically. This reduces execution risk, improves concurrency, and makes onchain activity more predictable and parallelizable.

Cardano also supports native tokens directly at the protocol level. Unlike Ethereum, where tokens such as ERC-20 rely on custom smart contracts, Cardano handles them natively. This makes token creation simpler, safer, and more efficient.

The network runs on Ouroboros, a proof-of-stake protocol that was the first to be formally verified and published in academic research. It provides strong security with much lower energy use than Bitcoin’s proof-of-work.

Key features include:

• Deterministic smart contracts: eUTxO enables secure, predictable execution.
• Predictable fees: Costs are fixed and stable, without gas auctions.
• Governance and identity: Initiatives like Project Catalyst bring voting, funding, and decentralized identity into the protocol.
• Scalability roadmap: Ongoing upgrades improve throughput, interoperability, and governance.

Dfns unlocks Tier-1 support for Cardano

With Tier-1 support now live, Cardano wallets on Dfns now have the full feature set of our infrastructure. 

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Developers and institutions can:

• Access complete wallet data: Balances for ADA, native tokens, and NFTs are automatically detected, with real-time indexing of transfers and history.
• Sign securely: Create signatures with the Cardano wallet key via the Dfns API or dashboard, with policies, quorum approvals, and governance rules enforced.
• Transfer and broadcast: Send ADA or other digital assets and broadcast transactions onchain with the same safeguards used across all Dfns wallets.
• Automate with webhooks: Get instant notifications on balances, transfers, and transaction statuses to drive automated workflows and smooth user experiences.

This upgrade makes it easier to build reliable, scalable Cardano-based applications. From retail wallets to custody platforms, trading applications, payments or token issuance, Dfns provides the secure wallet layer that hides complexity and meets institutional requirements.

By bringing Cardano to Tier-1, we connect its unique design, from eUTxO to Ouroboros, with enterprise-grade wallet infrastructure. Developers can now integrate Cardano under the same security, compliance, and scalability standards already used by 200+ organizations on Dfns.

Start building on Cardano today: app.dfns.io/get-started