UTXO model

The accounting model used by Bitcoin and networks derived from it (Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin SV, Dash, Dogecoin, the transparent layer of Zcash). Funds exist as discrete Unspent Transaction Outputs; a transaction consumes existing outputs in full as inputs and creates new outputs. A balance is the sum of the unspent outputs a key can spend.

Cardano uses an extended UTXO model and was developed independently of Bitcoin. On Cardano, addresses can carry a staking credential shared across a wallet, which links those addresses even when they are never spent together, a useful lead in investigations.