Looking at how different Layer 1 platforms tackle their design philosophy: Cardano operates as a smart contract platform built on Proof-of-Stake consensus, featuring on-chain governance that lets the community shape protocol evolution and a well-defined scalability roadmap to handle growing demand. Litecoin, meanwhile, takes a different path as a UTXO-based digital cash system secured by Proof-of-Work, prioritizing network uptime and minimal transaction fees for peer-to-peer value transfer. The key takeaway here is that both networks are optimized around distinct use cases—one emphasizes programmability and decentralized decision-making, while the other focuses on reliability and low-cost payments. Each represents a thoughtful engineering choice rather than competition, showing how the crypto ecosystem supports multiple solutions.