Overview
Get Started with Cardano is a free, step-by-step guide that takes a complete beginner from no wallet to their first staked ADA. Each step explains one idea in plain words, then checks understanding with a short quiz. The page puts setup at about 20 minutes, plus the time it takes to move funds1.
Get Started with Cardano lives on cardano.org, the community website run by the Cardano Foundation, a non-profit that supports the Cardano blockchain2. The site's code, including this page, is open source under the Apache 2.0 license in the Foundation's cardano-org repository on GitHub3.
Key Features
- A clear path in five steps. The guide splits setup into five stages: pick a wallet, back up the recovery phrase, check your address, get your first ADA, and stake and vote. A progress summary shows how many are done1.
- Safe practice with your backup words. A recovery phrase is the list of 12, 15, or 24 words that can restore a wallet4. The guide lets readers rehearse the backup check with a demo phrase and states that cardano.org will never ask for a real one1.
- See your on-chain status. Readers can connect a wallet or paste a receiving address to see its public activity on the blockchain. The page keeps the address only in the browser and looks it up through cardano.org's own data service, the way a block explorer does1.
- Quick checks after each step. Short multiple-choice questions test the idea behind each stage, such as who holds ADA left on an exchange or what a DRep is1.
- Staking and voting set up together. The last step has readers delegate to a stake pool, then hand their voting power to a DRep, a representative who votes on network decisions for them. A vote delegation is required before staking rewards can be withdrawn5.
What to Expect
For newcomers, Get Started with Cardano opens on the wallet step with a simple idea: a wallet holds keys, not coins. A short picker suggests a few wallets for phone and browser, with a link to cardano.org's full Wallet Finder for anyone who wants to compare more options1. Readers who want a wider view can also browse Adastack's wallet listings.
The recovery phrase step is written with scams in mind. It tells readers to write their real phrase on paper, keep it offline, and read cardano.org's page on common scams1. The quiz for this step asks what to do when a forum moderator sends a private message offering help.
To get ADA, the guide points to cardano.org's page on where to buy it, which lists exchanges by country. That page notes that an exchange holds the ADA until the owner sends it to a wallet they control6. The guide then asks readers to withdraw to their own address: "On the exchange it is theirs, in your wallet it is yours"1.
The final step explains that delegation moves rights, not ADA. Delegated ADA stays in the wallet and can be spent at any time, with no lock-up. If the chosen pool produces blocks, first rewards arrive about 15 to 20 days after delegating5. Links lead to cardano.org's pages on choosing a stake pool and picking a DRep, and to further staking guides for readers who want more detail.
Readers who want background before starting can follow a link to cardano.org's What is Cardano overview.
