Emurgo, one of the three entities governing Cardano, is working to address the gaps in the blockchain through decentralized identities and layer-2 solutions, according to founder and CEO Ken Kodama. In an interview with Cointelegraph Magazine, Kodama discussed Emurgo’s shift to a venture studio model in order to fill the 21 categories they believe are missing from Cardano compared to other leading blockchains. He explained that they plan to either build the solutions themselves or invest in them, using hackathons and grants to encourage Cardano builders to fill the gaps.
While Kodama did not provide a complete list of the 21 categories they are targeting, he mentioned two key areas. The first is decentralized identity (DID) for enterprise adoption, which he believes is lacking on Cardano. According to Kodama, embedding DID applications into blockchain protocols is essential, so filling this gap is a priority. The second area is layer-2 sidechains, which are currently being developed in other blockchains but are not yet prominent in Cardano. Kodama expressed the need to enhance the ecosystem by working on layer-2 solutions.
In addition to decentralized identities and layer-2 solutions, Emurgo is also exploring zero-knowledge rollups and optimistic rollups. They are investing in these technologies and have conducted a hackathon with these themes. By focusing on these areas, they aim to further improve the Cardano ecosystem.
Among the 21 identified categories, Kodama emphasized the pressing issue of developers’ experience, which hinders adoption. Currently, developers need to be proficient in programming languages Haskell and Plutus to build on Cardano. However, the number of developers familiar with these languages is quite low. To address this, Emurgo is supporting Aiken, a toolkit and new programming language for developing smart contracts on the Cardano blockchain. They believe that Aiken and similar languages will broaden the pool of builders able to develop on Cardano, and they are actively educating developers in Haskell and Plutus. However, Kodama noted that more needs to be done in this area.
In conclusion, Emurgo is working to fill the gaps in Cardano by focusing on decentralized identities, layer-2 solutions, zero-knowledge rollups, and optimistic rollups. They aim to address the pressing issue of developers’ experience by supporting Aiken and other programming languages that can be embedded into Cardano. Through these efforts, Emurgo strives to enhance the Cardano ecosystem and bridge the divide between Cardano and other leading blockchain platforms.
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