Mary

Mary is the Shelley protocol upgrade implemented in March 2021. It introduced native token and multi-asset support on Cardano. Mary allowed users to create uniquely defined (custom) tokens and carry out transactions with them directly on the Cardano blockchain.

With the Mary upgrade, the ledger’s accounting infrastructure processes not only ada transactions but also transactions that simultaneously carry several asset types. Native support grants distinct advantages for developers as there is no need to create smart contracts to handle custom token creation or transactions. Instead, the accounting ledger tracks the ownership and transfer of assets, removing extra complexity and potential for manual errors, while ensuring significant cost efficiency.

Developers, businesses, and applications can create general purpose (fungible) or specialized (non-fungible) tokens to achieve commercial or business objectives. These might include the creation of custom payment tokens or rewards for decentralized applications; stablecoins pegged to other currencies; or unique assets that represent intellectual property. All these assets can then be traded, exchanged, or used as payment for products or services.

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