Everything you need to know about Cardano (ADA) inside of Exodus.

Need a crypto wallet that gives you control of your assets? You can download Exodus here.

Cardano is a proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain founded by Charles Hoskinson in 2015 and launched in 2017.
​
ADA is the main asset of the Cardano network, and all transactions on the Cardano network require ADA to pay for the network transaction fees.

Exodus supports ADA as well as various tokens that run on the Cardano network. If you don't see the Cardano token you are looking for, you can add custom Cardano tokens to Exodus.

In this article, we'll go over common questions and troubleshooting steps for Cardano in Exodus.

Exodus uses a non-standard derivation path for Cardano (ADA), and other wallets likely do not support the same derivation path as Exodus.
​
Because other ADA wallets use a different derivation path, importing your 12-word secret key from Exodus into a different wallet will not generate the same ADA address, and you won't see the ADA balance from your Exodus wallet.
​
If you want to use your ADA with a different wallet, instead of importing, you can manually send ADA from Exodus to the other ADA wallet. For a guide on how to send crypto, visit: How do I send Bitcoin and crypto from Exodus?

On the Cardano network, every transaction output must include a minimum of 1 ADA (not including transaction fees). This requirement prevents attackers from sending many small spam transactions and ensures the network remains manageable and efficient.

As a result, the minimum amount of ADA you can send is 1 ADA. This applies to all ADA transactions, such as regular ADA transfers, token transactions, staking transactions, and claiming ADA staking rewards.

If you try to send less than 1 ADA, you'll see an error message saying the transaction amount is too small to send, like the examples shown below:

Mobile
​

Desktop
​

Web3 Wallet
​

In Exodus Desktop, you might see the error Transaction size is too large when sending ADA. This can happen when your wallet has received many previous ADA deposits (inputs).
​
Combining many of these inputs into one transaction makes it more complex to process. If there are too many inputs, the transaction might be too large for the Cardano network to process, resulting in the error.
​
When this happens, you will see a button saying Fix this. Clicking the button will consolidate all your ADA inputs, so you can send ADA transactions again.

Here's how to use this feature:

​

If you've previously sent ADA to your Legacy address in Exodus, you'll notice that these funds no longer show in your wallet. This is because Exodus stopped supporting ADA Legacy addresses.

Your funds are safe. For information on how to recover your ADA tokens from your Legacy address, contact Exodus Support by emailing [email protected], or use the messenger (purple chat icon in the bottom-right corner) to start a chat.

If you hold Cardano tokens or NFTs, or interact with web3 apps or dApps, you may notice that some of your ADA is locked.

For tokens and NFTs, the Cardano network requires a small amount of ADA to be locked with each token or NFT held in your wallet. The amount of ADA locked isn't fixed and depends on the number and type of tokens and NFTs in your wallet.

To unlock your ADA, you'll need to send the tokens and NFTs from your wallet.

If you’ve interacted with Cardano web3 apps or dApps, you might also have ADA locked as collateral. In Exodus, you can unlock this collateral at any time. To learn more about collateral, visit the section: What is collateral?

In Exodus Mobile, if your balance is highlighted, a) tap on it, to see b) the amount of locked ADA:
​

In Exodus Desktop, the amount of ADA locked is shown in the message below your balance in your ADA wallet:
​

In Exodus Web3 Wallet, the amount of ADA locked is shown in the message below your balance in your ADA wallet:
​

To interact with a smart contract on the Cardano network, you must first set collateral. This sets aside some of your ADA to cover network fees if a transaction fails.

For example, collateral is requested when using a web3 app to purchase an NFT and swapping Cardano tokens using a DEX.

If a smart contract transaction fails, the collateral compensates the network validator for the resources used. Collateral won't be used if your transaction is successful.

In Exodus, you'll be prompted to set collateral the first time you interact with Cardano web3 apps. Once you approve this transaction, 5 ADA will be locked as collateral. You can unlock this collateral at any time.

When setting collateral, take a moment to a) read the messaging, b) note the amount of ADA to be reserved as collateral, then c) click Approve.

Custom Cardano tokens are supported on all Exodus platforms (Mobile, Desktop, and Web3 Wallet). For a guide on how to add Cardano tokens, visit: How do I add a custom token?

Cardano NFTs are supported on Exodus Web3 Wallet. To learn more, visit the article: What is the NFT Gallery in Exodus?

In Exodus Mobile, the NFT Gallery is only available if you created your wallet before April 22, 2026. Viewing, sending, and receiving Cardano NFTs is not available if you created your wallet after that date.

Currently, Exodus Desktop does not support Cardano NFTs. This means you won't be able to see your ADA NFTs with Exodus Desktop.

If you've sent a Cardano NFT to Exodus Desktop, you can access your NFTs by syncing Exodus Desktop to Exodus Web3 Wallet.

If you created your wallet before April 22, 2026, you can also access your NFTs by syncing to Exodus Mobile. Viewing, sending, and receiving NFTs is not available with Exodus Mobile if you created your wallet after that date.

Once synced, you can access your Cardano NFTs from the NFT Gallery.

If you sent ADA to your Trezor portfolio using an older version of Exodus, your ADA balance might not show up in your Trezor portfolio in Exodus. In this case, you need to sweep your Trezor for ADA.

Sweeping scans your Trezor Cardano addresses for ADA. If ADA is found at other addresses, it will be transferred to your Trezor Cardano address and viewable Exodus.