Overview & Getting Started
Yes customised handles and one of the first few Dexes on the Cardano blockchain is almost a thing. Test it out yourself on the public testnets!
Before you dive headlong, be sure you have some test ada ($tADA) in your wallet. In our case, we used Nami wallet for ease of syncing with Sundaeswap. You can request for 1000 $tADA/day from here.
Note: Ada handle, Sundaeswap, Nami wallet are in collaboration with each other. Hence, we are reviewing them collectively.
Ada Handle
Ada Handle provides customised handles so that users would be able to send/rcv using their personalised handles rather than a full wallet address. Visit the testnet to mint your personalised handle!
First enter your email address to receive an email with a unique access link (for 30mins). Due to blockchain load, this may take a little longer. Once you have access, you can search for a personalised handle to see its availability. Each session allows a max of 3 handle purchases.
If your chosen handle is available, you can proceed to the next page where you would be directed to send 10 $tADA. Once successful, you should receive your customised handle within a couple of hours. That’s it, straightforward right?
You can also refer to our video tryout below
Sundaeswap
Sundaeswap is one of the first working Decentralised exchanges on the Cardano Blockchain. It provides token swapping and liquidity services. Visit the testnet to try out the swapping/ liquidity pool processes.
If you already have a Nami wallet extension & Ada Handle above, you should be able to connect both fairly easily.
Under the swap function, users would be able to test swapping tokens. The UI was easy, simply select the tokens you want to swap and the fees will be automatically computed.
Note that there is:
a) slippage tolerance – transaction will revert if prices change unfavourably by the selected percentage. The lower it is, the likelier the transaction will fail. Default is 0.5%
b)transaction deadline – transaction will revert if it exceeds the input timeline. Default is 4 mins
Under the liquidity section, users would be able to choose either to create their own test liquidity pool or add liquidity to any of the given pools. However, as this is a testnet environment, many of the related functions are very preliminary and rewards can’t be fully displayed.
That said, we still had a blast trying out both the swap and liquidity functions. Check out our video tryout below.
Conclusion
If these are indicators of the things to come, we are certainly in a very good position! Both testnets were fuss-free, user-friendly and simple to use. We did not experience any huge delay or frustration and both Ada Handle and Sundaeswap are testament to the Cardano developing ethos of building slow and steady, but a capable and powerful product.
If you enjoyed our writeup/ videos, do consider delegating to Huat pool. We are a small, independent, single SPO and we recently lost our block minting consistency and self-sufficiency due to reduced stake. Our pool infrastructure does require resources to maintain. Thank you for considering us!