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One of the most decentralized base layers — thousands of stake pools and a very high Nakamoto coefficient.
L1PoS (Ouroboros)
- Type
- L1 · PoS (Ouroboros)
- How it works
- Ouroboros PoS spreads block production across ~3,000 independent stake pools; on-chain governance (CIP-1694 / Voltaire) puts protocol decisions to ADA holders.
- Nakamoto coefficient
- 50+
- Node / validator set
- ~3,000 stake pools
- Client diversity
- Mostly one node implementation (a concentration risk)
- Governance
- On-chain (CIP-1694 / Voltaire)
- Key risk
- A few large stake pools still matter
Assessment
Cardano consistently tops Nakamoto-coefficient rankings (50+): no small group of pools can halt the chain, and stake is unusually well distributed. Its main weakness is client diversity — most nodes run a single implementation.
Decentralized here
- Very high Nakamoto coefficient (50+)
- ~3,000 independent stake pools
- On-chain, token-holder governance
- Low hardware requirements
Centralization vectors
- Limited node-client diversity
- Founding entities still influential
- Lower activity than top chains
A-Verdict
Among the most decentralized L1s by consensus, held back mainly by client monoculture.
Visit Cardano →
Grade as of June 2026; an opinionated synthesis of cited public metrics (Chainspect / Nakaflow (Nakamoto), L2BEAT (stages), clientdiversity.org — 2026). Figures shift — see methodology.
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