Input-Output Hong Kong (IOHK), now known as Input-Output Global, is a software development company that helps businesses, governmental organizations, and educational institutions create and use blockchain-based products.
Founded in 2015 by Charles Hoskinson and Jeremy Wood, IOHK has become a global organization with over 400 employees from 50 countries. The company created products like Plutus, Lace, Catalyst, and, most importantly, Cardano.
Charles Hoskinson is also a co-founder of the Ethereum blockchain and a well-known advocate for blockchain technology.
He started IOHK after Vitalik Buterin and the Ethereum team removed him from Ethereum. They debated whether the project should be commercial (Charles’ vision) or non-profit (Vitalik’s vision), which resulted in a break.
Since then, IOHK’s main objective has been commercializing blockchain technology, helping companies implement distributed ledgers, develop currencies, and deploy products on-chain – all for a price.
What’s The Relationship Between IOHK and Cardano?
Cardano was launched in September 2017, becoming the first product created by IOHK.
Cardano was designed to be a next-gen evolution of the Ethereum idea.
Developed by Charles Hoskinson and his team, it enables the development of various dApps, blockchain games, and new tokens.
Unlike Ethereum, Cardano is divided into two separate layers:
- Cardano Settlement Layer (CSL)
- Cardano Computing Layer (CCL)
The CCL is the layer where all the computations are executed, while the CSL contains the ledger of accounts and balances. When presented by the IOHK company, the idea of dividing the blockchain into interconnected layers made Cardano one of the fastest chains.
ADA is the native cryptocurrency of Cardano.
ADA is used to pay transaction fees and staked by validators who want to secure the blockchain in exchange for earning rewards.
Due to all these features created and implemented by IOHK and Charles, Cardano is considered a third-generation blockchain. Bitcoin is the first generation, and Ethereum is the second generation.
Conclusion
To sum everything up, Input-Output Global is a software development company founded by the ex-CEO of Ethereum, Charles Hoskinson, in partnership with Jeremy Wood. It focuses on helping different entities create and use blockchain-based products.
