What is Cardano's smallest sub-unit of an Ada called?

Cardano's smallest sub-unit of an Ada is called a Lovelace. The name commemorates Ada Lovelace, the 19th-century mathematician whose work on Charles Babbage's Analytical Engine is associated with early computer programming.

Cardano is a blockchain platform, while Ada, written ADA or ₳, is its native cryptocurrency. The currency is divided into Lovelaces so that transactions can represent very small amounts without relying on awkward decimal fractions in the underlying system.

One Ada equals 1,000,000 Lovelaces. That makes a Lovelace the Cardano equivalent of the smallest commonly used unit in other digital currencies, although the naming convention is specific to the Cardano ecosystem.

The alternative choices are connected to Cardano in a different way. Byron, Shelley, and Voltaire are names used for development eras or phases of the Cardano project, not the name of Ada's smallest monetary unit. This distinction makes “Lovelace” the single canonical answer.