Bridging the Gaps in Cardano

Ken Kodama, the founder and CEO of Emurgo, recently addressed the gaps in Cardano during a chat with Cointelegraph editor Andrew Fenton. With a venture studio model being adopted, the team is on a mission to tackle 21 ambitious categories that are missing from Cardano’s ecosystem, all while donning their superhero capes.

The Game Plan: Build or Invest

Kodama outlined the twin approaches to fill these gaps: either Emurgo creates the solutions or partners with others. They’re not just sitting in their offices sipping coffee — they’re hosting hackathons and handing out grants like candy on Halloween to inspire developers to build on Cardano. “We need to shift our focus as we venture into the future of blockchain, leveraging a studio-based ecosystem,” he emphasized.

Key Areas of Focus

Among the many areas of focus, decentralized identity (DID) for enterprises and layer-2 sidechains are at the forefront. Kodama stressed the lack of DID applications on Cardano, calling it a primary gap. “We haven’t witnessed much progress in this area so it’s vital that we fill it,” he stated, maybe with a superhero lasso to reel them in!

Layer-2 Solutions: Cardano’s Secret Weapon?

While it’s clear that Cardano has its Hydra for scaling, Emurgo isn’t stopping there. Kodama expressed enthusiasm for the budding layer-2 ecosystems seen in other blockchain platforms. “There’s an incredible layer-2 movement that I really don’t see on Cardano right now. We need to level up,” said Kodama, undoubtedly plotting a new course for layer-2 enhancements and improvements.

The Developer Dilemma

Yikes! One of the core challenges hindering adoption is the steep learning curve for developers. Haskell and Plutus might sound like fancy names for science fiction characters, but they represent the languages that developers need to master to create on Cardano. Kodama candidly admitted that the number of developers familiar with these languages is dismally low. To combat this, Emurgo is backing the Aiken toolkit, aimed at simplifying the smart contract development process.

Educating the Builders

“We’ve graduated over 2,000 builders in Haskell and Plutus, which is commendable, but we need more,” Kodama shared with both pride and concern. Aiken and other applicable programming languages are critical to attract more talent into the Cardano ecosystem. Kodama is hopeful that these tools will mount a significant charge against the barriers currently faced by aspiring developers.

The Future is Bright for Cardano

With a strategic focus on filling crucial gaps, from decentralized identities to developer accessibility, Emurgo is charged up to supercharge Cardano’s ecosystem. As these initiatives come to life, Cardano could catapult itself into the upper echelons of the blockchain game.