A privacy-focused stablecoin tied to Circle has quietly become part of the story behind Cardano’s recent jump in decentralized finance activity. Related Reading: Bitcoin’s Valuation Model Hints At $500K Cycle Average, Analyst Says The token, called USDCx, was brought into the Cardano ecosystem earlier this year as part of a broader push to grow the network’s financial infrastructure — and the numbers that followed have drawn attention across the crypto community. Cross-Chain Ambitions Drive Capital Into Cardano Protocols Data shows Cardano’s total value locked — a measure of assets committed to DeFi services like lending and liquidity pools — climbed from 447 million ADA on February 26 to 552 million ADA by March 10. That’s a gain of roughly 23% in under two weeks, according to stake pool operator Dave, who shared the figures on X. In US dollar terms, the move was smaller. Analytics platform DeFiLlama tracked the network’s TVL rising from about $127 million to approximately $142 million over the same stretch — a roughly 12% increase. The gap between the two figures comes down to ADA’s own price movement during that period, which pushed up the native token count without a matching rise in dollar value. Still, the flow of capital is real. Reports indicate roughly 105 million ADA moved into Cardano-based DeFi protocols during those 12 days. Cardano’s DeFi TVL has increased an impressive 23.5% in just 12 days. On 26 February it stood at $447.13M. Today it sits at $552.35M. That is roughly $105M of additional value now locked in Cardano DeFi protocols in just 12 days. Cardano is growing. — Dave (@ItsDave_ADA) March 10, 2026 The stablecoin market cap on Cardano has reached around $48 million, a marker that backers say reflects growing confidence in the network’s financial rails. That figure sits alongside a broader buildout the Cardano community voted to fund. Last year, close to 50 million ADA was approved to strengthen the network’s DeFi infrastructure — money aimed at making the chain more competitive with established players. Hoskinson Eyes Bitcoin And XRP Bridge Deals This Year Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has been vocal about what comes next. He has confirmed that talks around cross-chain bridges — connections that would allow assets to move between Cardano and networks like Bitcoin and XRP — will pick up pace this year. Those bridges are listed as one of five core priorities in Cardano’s 2026 roadmap, which Hoskinson has described as a make-or-break period for the project’s DeFi ambitions. The network’s TVL, even after its recent climb, remains a fraction of what more established chains command. Ethereum’s DeFi ecosystem holds tens of billions of dollars in locked assets. Solana’s figure also runs well ahead of Cardano’s current $142 million mark. Related Reading: Bitcoin Crosses 20 Million Coins Mined — And Only 1 In 20 Remains Cardano Community Bets Big On Infra Spending What distinguishes the current moment for Cardano is the combination of governance-approved spending, new stablecoin integrations, and stated plans to open the chain to outside liquidity. Whether the momentum holds will depend in large part on how quickly those cross-chain connections are built and how much capital they attract. Featured image from Altify, chart from TradingView
Cardano is facing a fresh round of criticism after renowned crypto market analyst Ali Martinez, known on X as Ali Charts, argued that the network’s valuation remains badly out of step with actual usage. His thesis is blunt: unless adoption improves materially, ADA’s price could face far more downside if a key support level breaks. In a post titled “The Most Useless Network in the Crypto Market,” Martinez framed Cardano as a chain with a large market value but comparatively weak onchain traction. He wrote, “Cardano ranks among the largest cryptocurrencies by market value, yet the level of real activity on the network remains relatively small.” Could Cardano Fall Another 80%? He then tied that directly to DeFi participation, arguing that “the amount of capital locked in Cardano’s DeFi ecosystem has never exceeded $1 billion, and it has historically been only a fraction of what is locked on competing platforms like Ethereum. Even some newer chains, such as SUI, have already surpassed it in usage.” Related Reading: Cardano Red Month Is Far From Over: Analyst Predicts Crash To This Target That gap between valuation and network activity sits at the center of his bearish case. Martinez argued that when “a network is valued in the billions but only a limited amount of capital and applications are actually using it, the price may be driven more by speculation than by real demand.” In his view, Cardano has yet to establish the kind of durable product-market fit that tends to sustain long-term capital inflows in crypto. He sharpened that comparison by placing Cardano alongside two ecosystems that, in his telling, already carved out clearer roles in the market. “Unlike Ethereum, which has built a dominant position in DeFi, or Solana, which has captured high-speed consumer applications, Cardano still lacks a clear use case that consistently attracts users, developers, and investors,” he wrote. The point was not simply that Cardano is smaller than those chains, but that it still has not locked in a sector where it is the default destination for activity. Related Reading: Cardano Sharks & Whales Quietly Accumulate 819M ADA Amid Price Decline Martinez also pointed to Cardano’s development model as a structural constraint. “Another concern for me is the pace of development and the increasingly competitive environment,” he said. “Cardano follows a research-driven model that prioritizes academic review and formal verification. While that approach can improve security and design quality, it has also resulted in a slower rollout of features compared to other blockchains.” That slower cadence, he suggested, has had compounding effects. “Although Cardano launched in 2017, smart contracts were not introduced until 2021, giving competing ecosystems several years to build stronger network effects with more developers, applications, and liquidity.” In crypto, where network effects can become self-reinforcing, arriving late to key product layers can matter as much as technical design. The market implication of that thesis comes down to one chart level. Martinez said $0.245 is the critical support to watch. If that floor breaks decisively, he sees scope for a move to $0.112 or even $0.051, which would imply another 50% to 80% decline from that zone. He stopped short of calling the breakdown a certainty, noting that it “has not yet occurred,” but said traders waiting on the sidelines could still see a short setup if the level fails, provided risk is tightly managed. At press time, ADA traded at $0.2668. Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com
Like other altcoins in the space, the Cardano price has suffered a tremendous amount of losses over the last few months. This relentless sell-off has pushed the ADA price so low that it is now sitting at levels not seen since the last bear market. Even now, Cardano remains in danger of further decline, as explained by crypto analyst Lingrid in a recent analysis. Why Cardano Could Crash Further The major problem being faced by the Cardano price now is that the bulls have failed a number of times to reclaim control from the bears. With each failure, the hold by the bears becomes stronger, furthering the possibility of a bearish continuation. Related Reading: Bitcoin Bear Market Could Be Shrinking, But Are We Watching History Repeating Itself? In the analysis, crypto analyst Lingrid revealed that Cardano remains below the consolidation support at $0.26. As a result of this, the cryptocurrency has now started moving below its former structure. At the same time, the price is also below the descending resistance, showing a lot of weakness. Despite the recent recovery, the fact that the altcoin’s price eventually moved back downward proved that bears are still in control of the market. The downside of this is that the bearish continuation is likely from here, especially as the price has also been rejected at $0.26, and the price could crash further. The only way this move gets invalidated is if the Cardano price were to successfully reclaim and break above $0.27 again. 6 Months Of Red With the red close of the month of February, Cardano marked five consecutive months of red closes, making it the third time in history that this has happened, according to data from CryptoRank. The first time was back in 2021-2022, when the bear market had begun, and then again, that year, Cardano recorded another five consecutive months of red closes. Related Reading: Pundit Says XRP Price Could Reach $1,000 By End Of 2026 If This Happens While the last time ended with a major surge in the sixth month, the Cardano price is already down by more than 11% in the month of March, suggesting that the red trend could continue. Now, back in 2021-2022, was the first time in history that the digital asset saw 6 red monthly candles, and what followed was interesting. After the sixth month of red in February 2022, the Cardano price had begun to surge, eventually ending the next month with gains of 18%. However, after this, the bleed continued, and Cardano fell further. Now, if this trend were to repeat itself, then the cryptocurrency could see a relief bounce after the sixth month of red. But this would not mean an end to the decline, but rather, a precursor to more decline. Featured image from Dall.E, chart from TradingView.com
Washington’s push for a federal crypto rulebook reignited a long-running industry debate over what “regulatory clarity” actually delivers and who it helps. At the center of the debate is H.R. 3633, the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act of 2025, a bill that supporters present as a long-awaited replacement for years of regulation by enforcement. The […]
The post White House stablecoin deadline slips as Hoskinson warns CLARITY Act could push US crypto founders offshore appeared first on CryptoSlate.
CME Group, the world’s largest derivatives marketplace, is expanding its footprint in crypto with the launch of new futures contracts tied to Cardano (ADA), Chainlink (LINK), and Stellar (XLM). In a blog post published Monday, the exchange confirmed that the crypto contracts went live on February 9, marking another step in the steady buildout of its regulated cryptocurrency product suite. New Futures And Index Launch Plan With the addition of ADA, LINK and XLM, CME now offers futures products covering seven major crypto assets. According to the company’s own estimates, the expanded lineup represents exposure to more than 75% of the total cryptocurrency market capitalization. Related Reading: Bitcoin And Ethereum Prices Are Recovering Again, But Will The US-Israel War Derail It? The new crypto contracts are cash-settled and reference the CME CF Reference Rates. Each token is available in both standard and micro-sized contracts, allowing for participation from a broad range of institutional and smaller market participants. The first LINK and XLM futures trades were executed between FalconX and Marex, while the inaugural ADA transactions took place between Cumberland DRW and Wintermute. In addition to the new token-specific contracts, CME revealed plans to roll out a Nasdaq CME Crypto Index futures product, targeted for launch on March 16, pending regulatory approval. Crypto Derivatives Hit Record Volumes In 2025 In its blog post, the company also highlighted the rapid growth of its crypto derivatives business. In 2025, CME recorded a milestone year for its digital asset product suite, reporting an average daily volume of 278,300 contracts. Related Reading: Wall Street Giant JPMorgan Sees Clarity Act Driving Second-Half Upside That figure translates to roughly $12 billion in notional value traded each day. Growth has also been reflected in rising average daily open interest, underscoring sustained institutional engagement since the product line’s inception. Featured image from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com
Cardano (ADA) jumped over 12% in a single day, breaking above short-term resistance and drawing renewed attention from both whales and institutional funds. The surge coincides with steady accumulation by whales and mechanical buying from index-tracking products, signaling a potential shift after months of consolidation. Related Reading: XRP Rally Incoming? Analyst Forecasts March-April Recovery If This Level Breaks The combination of rising trading activity, renewed interest in derivatives, and steady accumulation by major holders has brought Cardano back onto traders’ radars. While questions remain about long-term network activity, recent price behavior suggests that market participants are ready for significant long-term moves. ADA's price trends to the downside on the daily chart. Source: ADAUSD on Tradingview Institutional Allocation and Whale Accumulation Support Cardano’s Momentum On-chain data shows that large Cardano holders, commonly referred to as sharks and whales, have accumulated roughly 819 million ADA over the past six months. This buying occurred even as prices declined significantly, indicating that influential investors viewed lower levels as an opportunity to build positions. Institutional exposure has also increased. Asset manager Grayscale raised Cardano’s weighting within its Smart Contract Platform Select Capped Index fund to above 20%, making ADA the product’s third-largest holding. Although the adjustments are driven partly by index-tracking mechanics, the rising allocation highlights Cardano’s continued relevance among major smart-contract platforms. This accumulation trend contrasts with retail sentiment during the downturn and suggests longer-term conviction despite ongoing competition from rival blockchain ecosystems. Analysts often interpret sustained buying during price weakness as a signal that larger investors are positioning ahead of future catalysts. Technical Breakout Fuels ADA’s Price Surge ADA recorded a 12% daily gain, rising from roughly $0.26 to above $0.29, as trading volume surged to nearly 4 times its average level. The move followed a breakout above key short-term technical levels after weeks of consolidation. Momentum indicators show a recovery phase underway. The RSI remains below overbought territory, leaving room for further upside, while trend strength readings indicate a developing directional move. Rising futures open interest, which expanded by nearly 30% in a single day, suggests fresh capital entering the market rather than short covering alone. Key levels now sit near $0.31 as immediate support, while resistance appears around $0.34 and the 50-day moving average. A sustained hold above these zones could reinforce bullish momentum, whereas rejection may trigger consolidation. Ecosystem Developments Add Fundamental Narrative Beyond price action, Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson recently emphasized that the network remains competitive, citing the upcoming Midnight privacy project as evidence of continued development. The initiative has already attracted early partnerships and aims to expand enterprise and regulatory-compliant use cases. Still, mixed fundamentals persist. While derivatives activity and investor accumulation are rising, decentralized finance participation and total value locked on the network remain below previous highs, reflecting uneven ecosystem growth. Related Reading: Bitcoin Price Surges 8% — Key Drivers Behind The Recovery Toward $70,000 For now, Cardano’s rally represents a notable alignment between institutional positioning and technical momentum. Whether ADA can sustain gains above current resistance levels will likely depend on continued capital inflows and broader crypto market sentiment in the weeks ahead. Cover image from ChatGPT, ADAUSD chart on Tradingview
On-chain data shows the Cardano sharks and whales have quietly been accumulating the asset even as the price has gone through a drawdown. Cardano Sharks & Whales Have Increased Supply Share By 1.6% In a new post on X, on-chain analytics firm Santiment has talked about the latest trend in the supply of the Cardano sharks and whales. The indicator of interest here is the “Supply Distribution,” which tells us about the amount of the ADA circulating supply that’s held by a given wallet group. Related Reading: Bitcoin Yet To See Meaningful Capital Return, Glassnode Says Addresses or investors are divided into these cohorts based on the number of tokens that they are carrying in their balance. The 1 to 10 coins cohort, for instance, includes the wallets owning between 1 and 10 ADA. In the context of the current topic, the range of interest is the 100,000 to 100 million coins one. At the current exchange rate, its lower end converts to $30,400 and upper one to $30.4 million. Given the scale involved, the range would cover some of the key investors of the market holding a notable amount. Holders of this kind are popularly called the sharks and whales. Moves from these traders can sometimes have an effect on the market, so they can be worth keeping an eye on. If nothing else, the behavior of these groups can be revealing about the sentiment among the influential entities. Now, here is the chart shared by Santiment that shows the trend in the Supply Distribution of the Cardano sharks and whales over the last few months: As displayed in the above graph, the Cardano sharks and whales have seen their Supply Distribution rise over the last few months, indicating that the large investors have been accumulating. More specifically, the sharks and whales have added 819.4 million tokens (currently worth $248 million) to their wallets over the last six months. This has taken their supply share of the cryptocurrency from 66.84% to 68.44%. Interestingly, while the sharks and whales have expanded their supply during this window, the asset’s price has witnessed a significant drawdown instead. The timing could suggest that the key investors have been looking at the price decline as an opportunity to enter at lower levels. Related Reading: Bitcoin Nears Death Cross That Preceded Final Bear Market Legs From the chart, it’s visible that the accumulation trend has become particularly steep this month. It now remains to be seen whether this buying will pay off for the Cardano sharks and whales or if the asset will go lower still. ADA Price Cardano has observed a strong surge of 14% during the last 24 hours that has taken its price to $0.30. Featured image from Dall-E, chart from TradingView.com
Eligible U.S. users, excluding those in New York, can now borrow up to $100,000 in USDC without selling the four tokens, Coinbase said.
This year has been a tough ride for Cardano (ADA) investors, as weakening retail participation collides with renewed development activity and aggressive accumulation by large holders. Related Reading: Bitcoin Capitulation Or Buy Zone? What On-Chain Data Shows Right Now While on-chain data points to growing long-term conviction, market sentiment around ADA remains fragile, leaving the asset caught between technical pressure and ecosystem expansion efforts. Cardano sits at #11 trading near $0.28 after a sharp correction from January highs above $0.44. The price structure reflects broader cooling across the market, with declining derivatives activity and cautious trader positioning reinforcing analysts’ description of a “survival mode” environment for the token. ADA's price trends to the downside on the daily chart. Source: ADAUSD on Tradingview Market Fatigue Weighs on Cardano (ADA) Price Momentum Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson recently warned that the crypto market could face another 90 to 180 days of slow conditions, citing retail exhaustion following years of market shocks, including exchange failures, regulatory uncertainty, and repeated speculative cycles. Derivatives data support this cautious outlook. Open interest in ADA futures has dropped to roughly $447 million, alongside declining trading volumes, signaling reduced conviction among traders. Funding rates have also turned negative, suggesting bearish sentiment is building in leveraged markets. Technically, ADA is testing key support levels. The token continues to defend an ascending trendline formed after February’s lows near $0.22, while resistance remains clustered around the $0.29–$0.30 region. Analysts note that repeated tests of support increase the risk of breakdown, potentially exposing downside targets near $0.25 if selling pressure intensifies. Despite the weakness, higher-low formations and stabilization above short-term moving averages leave room for recovery should broader market sentiment improve. Whales Step In as Retail Interest Declines While retail demand fades, large holders appear to be taking the opposite approach. On-chain data shows wallets holding between 10 million and 100 million ADA accumulated more than 220 million tokens, valued at over $61 million, during the recent price dip. The Mean Coin Age metric has reached a three-month high, indicating long-term holders are largely refraining from selling. Historically, this combination of whale accumulation and reduced token movement can tighten circulating supply and help establish price floors during downturns. Some analysts argue that February’s lows could represent a longer-term entry zone if market conditions stabilize, though they caution that historical rebounds do not guarantee future performance. DeFi Expansion Plans Aim to Shift Narrative Beyond price action, Cardano is advancing with ecosystem upgrades to strengthen its decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem. The network plans to launch USDCx, a USDC-backed stablecoin intended to address liquidity shortages that have limited DeFi growth on the chain. In parallel, Cardano is integrating the LayerZero interoperability protocol, enabling connections to more than 140 blockchain networks, including Ethereum and Solana. The move is expected to expand cross-chain liquidity access and attract developers seeking broader user bases. Related Reading: Ethereum Staking Reaches Historic Levels, Price Hovers Near $2K Development activity remains high, with hundreds of repository updates focused on wallet improvements, cross-chain communication, and network infrastructure. However, market reaction has so far remained muted, suggesting investors are waiting for measurable adoption rather than announcements alone. Cover image from ChatGPT, ADAUSD chart on Tradingview
Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson says the crypto market is headed for “90–180 days” of more grind, not because the industry lacks catalysts, but because retail is exhausted and the narrative that kept people engaged has stopped working. Speaking with CoinDesk at Consensus 2026 in Hong Kong, the Input Output CEO framed the current drawdown as a morale problem as much as a market one. “This one particularly stings because we expected a really strong cycle in 2025 and we didn’t quite get it,” he said. “So, a lot of people are pretty bitter about it… We just got to get through the next 90-180 days. It’s going to be tough.” Cardano Founder On What Went Wrong For Crypto Hoskinson’s core point was that crypto has spent years promising a near-term “magic fix,” then watching the market fail to respond even when those fixes arrived. He rattled off the sequence retail has lived through: NFT mania, the collapse of Luna, collapse of FTX, the “scary Gary era,” memecoin mania, and “all the Trump stuff” and argued that each cycle offered the same story: endure the pain now, because something big is coming in 6–12 months. “And we got all the mcguffins,” he said. “We got BlackRock coming in. We got the US government doing the reserve thing. We got good regulation with Genius to start… all the things that we were looking for happened and then nothing happened afterwards.” Related Reading: Cardano May Be At A Prime Buying Point, Analyst Says To explain the mood, Hoskinson leaned on a vivid travel metaphor: “We got to the town and the hotel was closed, the restaurants closed and we’re like where do we sleep and eat? … people are deeply frustrated.” That frustration, in his telling, has turned into a broader disengagement. Retail isn’t shocked by volatility, it’s bored and worn down by the repeated promise that the next institutional wave, the next regulatory milestone, or the next narrative pivot will make the market “work” again. Hoskinson also cast the next phase of adoption as politically contentious inside crypto itself. As more traditional finance players get involved, he warned of a future where the industry becomes “federated”, dominated by large corporate-controlled networks and where users are pushed away from self-custody. “What they want to do long term is move everybody into a custodial holder from a non-custodial holder and then ban DeFi and non-custodial wallets so they can consolidate the entire industry to like 10 or 15 of big actors,” he said, adding that it’s feeding apathy among long-time participants. He put it more bluntly a moment later: “We didn’t sign up to have Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan and BlackRock and these other guys run the industry. We signed up to build a new banking system that is pushing power to the edges.” If the industry drifts back into the hands of the institutions crypto originally positioned itself against, Hoskinson argued, the last decade of risk-taking starts to look like a round trip. How To Make Crypto Great Again Hoskinson’s proposed reset centers on making crypto usable for people who aren’t primarily there to trade. That starts with “wallet abstraction”, reducing onboarding to something like “30 seconds with a fingerprint and a pin code,” plus social recovery and then integrating those wallets into mainstream platforms so the default experience becomes non-financial. Related Reading: Cardano Nears End Of 2020-Style Correction: Is $5 To $10 Next? “Right now, I have to understand… private keys, understand how to back up wallets, all this stuff,” he said. “So, really, the only interface is for people that are doing this for financial reasons.” From there, he argued, crypto should stop “over financializing everything,” pointing to the volume of token launches as a symptom. “Anytime I hear anything, I always ask, ‘When’s the token launch?’ And I’m sorry, 11 million tokens went out last year. It’s not sustainable,” he said. He tied that thesis to what he sees as the next wave of demand: agentic AI. By 2030, Hoskinson predicted, “the majority of internet searches in commerce will be agentic,” meaning bots transact more than humans and crypto, via stablecoins and standards he referenced such as x402 becomes the rails that give those agents “economic agency.” Hoskinson also dismissed the idea that quantum fears are driving today’s downturn. “If there are, they’re stupid,” he said of anyone selling Bitcoin due to quantum risk, calling the threat “not… right now.” He pointed instead to DARPA’s Quantum Benchmarking Initiative (QBI), saying the effort is working toward measuring whether quantum computers will be meaningful “by 2033,” and argued the real issue is trade-offs: post-quantum cryptography is “5 to 10 times less efficient,” and few networks want to pay that cost today. Still, he framed the looming transition as an opportunity, especially for Bitcoin, which he said may need a hard fork to fully address post-quantum migration. For Cardano, he argued, on-chain governance makes such changes a more bounded process: “It’s a six-month conversation for us.” At press time, Cardano traded at $0.2638. Featured image from YouTube, chart from TradingView.com
Cardano is aggressively expanding the types of tokens that can operate on its network and raise the ceiling for its decentralized finance ecosystem over the next 12 to 18 months. On Feb. 12, the Charles Hoskinson-led blockchain announced it would integrate with LayerZero, a widely used cross-chain messaging system. This move represents the single largest interoperability […]
The post New Cardano deal opens a path to $80 billion in omnichain assets, but liquidity still isn’t guaranteed appeared first on CryptoSlate.
Input Output Global's Founder Charles Hoskinson said Midnight, the long-awaited privacy-focused blockchain, will launch in the final week of March as a partner chain to Cardano.
Reports say Cardano’s price has slid low enough that a fresh wave of buyers is talking about picking up ADA on weakness. Crypto Jebb, a YouTuber with a big following, argues current levels create an attractive “buy the dip” opportunity because the downside looks smaller than the upside from here. Related Reading: After Predicting XRP’s Drop, Analyst Says The Bottom May Be In He notes ADA sits more than 90% below its all-time high and roughly 77% under its December 2024 level near $1.32. That gap, he says, changes how risk looks for someone adding to a long-term position. Market Structure Shows Patterns Traders Recognize Weekly charts are at the center of the case being made. Reports note ADA has a history of long consolidation before large rebounds, and some of those moves returned 100% or more. Momentum readings have been on flat surface lately, which can mean selling pressure is easing after long falls. Support zones have held in prior cycles and buying interest later helped push prices higher. These are technical signs only; they do not promise a repeat. Still, for many traders this setup signals an asymmetric bet — limited room to lose in proportion to the reward if things flip. On-Chain Signals And Broader Context According to various commentaries, the bullish view is not based solely on price charts. Relative weakness against Bitcoin is being watched closely. ADA is at historic lows versus BTC, a level that in prior cycles preceded big runs when capital flowed back into altcoins. Analysts point to RSI bottoms and matching time cycles as further clues that a turning point could be forming. Reports also emphasize that broader market calm and continued interest in altcoins are necessary to make these patterns matter. Price Targets And Reward Estimates Reports say price scenarios stretch from $1.50 up to near $2 over the coming 12 to 24 months if momentum returns. From recent levels near $0.33, those targets imply gains greater than 300% in a favorable environment. Risk-to-reward figures above eight times have been floated by some commentators who calculate potential upside against possible downside from current prices. Those numbers are attractive on paper, but they depend on macro factors and renewed investor appetite for alternative tokens. Where The Argument Is Thin And How To Frame Risk Reports note the trade is mainly pattern-driven and light on fresh on-chain growth or developer activity as proof that a major rally is coming. That matters. If ecosystem adoption or meaningful protocol updates are missing, past chart patterns may fail to repeat. Related Reading: Tron Accumulates TRX, Price Pops As Justin Sun Weighs In Position sizing, stop levels, and a clear view of where the thesis breaks should be part of any plan, because the market can stay stressed out for longer than expected. Some investors treat this as a buy-the-dip window; others view it as a high-risk stance that must be managed carefully. Crypto Jebb sees Cardano’s current slide as a good entry point, with limited downside compared to potential gains. He suggests long-term investors consider adding ADA now, while stressing that careful risk management is still essential. Featured image from Newsbit, chart from TradingView
He stressed long-term commitment, prioritizing the development of decentralized systems over short-term price fluctuations.
On Jan. 30, Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson announced that he has signed an integration agreement to bring USDCx, a Circle-linked stablecoin product, to the Cardano ecosystem. The infrastructure move represents a strategic effort to lower the network’s DeFi growth ceiling by establishing a sustained, reliable flow of on-chain dollar liquidity. In a social media post […]
The post Cardano secures $70B liquidity injection that finally solves the network’s biggest missing piece for investors appeared first on CryptoSlate.
Cardano’s (ADA) current price may look tempting, especially as it sits deep in oversold territory, but cheap doesn’t always mean opportunity. When momentum is absent and structure remains weak, early buyers often find themselves stuck watching price drift sideways for weeks. For ADA, the real question isn’t how low it has gone; it’s whether it has the strength to escape. Trapped In the Red Zone: Pressure, Not Opportunity Trend Rider, in a recent update shared on X, explained that ADA’s daily chart has been flashing signals that many traders interpret as a “perfect bottom.” With the price sitting at the lower end of the bands and deep in the red, the temptation to buy looks obvious. However, Rider cautioned that low prices alone are not a guarantee that a move higher is ready to begin. Related Reading: Bitcoin’s Next Peak Might Ignite ADA’s Rally, Says Cardano Creator According to the analysis using the Rider Algo, Cardano is currently pinned inside a dark red zone. While some see this area as a solid floor, Trend Rider views it as a zone of heavy pressure and exhaustion, where price often drifts sideways for extended periods, leaving traders stuck in unproductive consolidation. Rider emphasized that trying to catch absolute bottoms rarely works out, often resulting in either catching a falling knife or watching capital remain stagnant while other assets show clearer momentum. As a result, Rider’s focus is not on buying at the lowest possible price, but on waiting for confirmation that strength is returning as the key is not support, but escape. Trend Rider expects Cardano to demonstrate the ability to climb out of the red zone with conviction. Specifically, the analyst is watching for a decisive breakout and a daily close above the $0.45 level. Until that happens, the bears still control the market structure. For now, Rider’s plan is to enter at a higher price with confirmed momentum than gamble on a “perfect bottom” and hope it holds. Currently, trading is about correct timing, not arriving first. Cardano Buyers Defend $0.33–$0.36 From Marcus Corvinus’s analysis, Cardano is currently reacting from a key demand zone between $0.33 and $0.36, an area where buyers have previously stepped in to defend the price. This zone is now under close watch as it could once again play a crucial role in determining the next move. Related Reading: Cardano Nears End Of 2020-Style Correction: Is $5 To $10 Next? Corvinus noted that if the demand zone holds and bullish momentum begins to build, ADA could see a more sustained bounce, potentially opening the way toward the next major resistance level around $0.53. As things stand, this area is shaping up to be a decision point for the market. Continued buyer defense could help rebuild structure and gradually shift pressure back to the upside. Featured image from Adobe Stock, chart from Tradingview.com
The era of the crypto industry being seen as a two-asset town is officially over at the world’s largest derivatives marketplace. On Jan. 15, CME Group announced plans to launch futures contracts for Cardano (ADA), Chainlink (LINK), and Stellar (XLM) on Feb. 9, pending regulatory review. This move represents a calculated signal from the Chicago-based […]
The post Crypto futures legitimized by CME with Cardano, Chainlink, and Stellar addition, but retail traders face a massive catch appeared first on CryptoSlate.
Leading derivatives exchange CME plans to add futures contracts tied to Cardano (ADA), Chainlink (LINK), and Stellar (XLM) to continue growing its roster of regulated crypto derivatives. Related Reading: Analyst Says It’s Time For Ethereum’s ‘Big Test’ – Is ETH Season Loading? CME Adds New Altcoins To Crypto Derivatives Lineup On Thursday, Chicago-based derivatives exchange CME Group announced a new expansion of its lineup of regulated crypto derivatives with the upcoming inclusion of Cardano, Chainlink, and Stellar futures. According to the announcement, the new crypto additions are expected to launch on February 9, 2026, although they are still pending regulatory review. In addition, they will offer both micro-sized and larger-sized contracts for the three cryptocurrencies. For the standard Cardano futures, the contract will cover 100,000 ADA, while the micro-sized ADA futures will consist of 10,000 tokens. In addition, the Chainlink and Stellar’s large-sized futures will be set at 5,000 LINK and 250,000 XLM, respectively, while the small-sized contracts will cover 250 LINK and 12,500 XLM. The upcoming Cardano, Chainlink, and Stellar futures contracts build on the derivatives exchange’s existing crypto suite, which includes four of the largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. In 2017, CME first launched Bitcoin (BTC) futures, followed by the introduction of Ethereum (ETH) futures in 2021. In the first half of 2025, the Chicago-based exchange added Solana (SOL) and XRP futures to its lineup, introducing options for both cryptocurrencies later in the year. Giovanni Vicioso, CME Group Global Head of Cryptocurrency Products, highlighted the industry’s expansion and development over the past few years, affirming that “given crypto’s record growth over the last year, clients are looking for trusted, regulated products to manage price risk as well as additional tools to gain exposure to this dynamic market.” “With these new micro- and larger-size Cardano, Chainlink and Stellar futures contracts, market participants will now have greater choice with enhanced flexibility and more capital-efficiencies,” he added. Cardano, Chainlink, Stellar Price Reaction Despite the positive development, the trajectory of ADA, LINK, and XLM remained mostly unchanged, with the three altcoins continuing their intraday correction. Chainlink and Stellar both saw 4% declines from their Thursday highs, falling to the $13.60 and $0.225 levels. LINK has momentarily lost the $13.80 level as support and is attempting to hold the current area to prevent further bleeding. Similarly, XLM was also rejected from the Wednesday highs and bounced from the $0.230 before continuing its descent toward its two-day low. Related Reading: Bitcoin Nears ‘Historic’ Technical Test As Price Eyes $93,500 Barrier – What’s Next? Meanwhile, ADA was attempting to reclaim the $0.41 area ahead of the announcement, briefly bouncing from the recent pullback. Notably, Cardano surged over 10% from the recent lows toward the crucial $0.42-$0.43 area. However, the altcoin was rejected from this zone on Wednesday, retracing nearly 9% from the local highs to retest the $0.40 level. On Thursday morning, the cryptocurrency bounced from this area, but ultimately resumed its correction as the day progressed. As a result, Cardano has retraced most of this week’s gains, currently trading around the $0.391 mark. Featured Image from Unsplash.com, Chart from TradingView.com
Cardano founder says Trump’s actions have politicized crypto and alienated half the country.
Cardano rallied this month after a clear rebound from a low zone around $0.33–$0.35. Prices jumped more than 10% on January 2, and ADA is up 20% year-to-date. Related Reading: Crypto Market Watches As Clarity Act Enters Senate Debate Next Week: US Senator Reports have disclosed that whale activity spiked on that day across both spot and futures markets, according to recent data. Governance on January 8 approved a 70 million ADA treasury allocation aimed at supporting USDC/USDT integrations, oracle work with Pyth Network, and cross-chain tools. Market players say that is hard cash being put to work. Hoskinson Sees Bitcoin As A Trigger According to Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson, a fresh Bitcoin push to a record high would help lift other tokens, including ADA. He has forecast that Bitcoin could reach $250,000 toward the end of this year, a move that would push its market cap to roughly $5 trillion. Hoskinson argued that when Bitcoin leads a rally, investors tend to buy BTC first because it offers liquidity and a sense of relative safety, and then capital flows into higher-risk assets later. UPDATE: #Cardano $ADA Founder Charles Hoskinson says “I believe Bitcoin will reach an all-time high, and I also believe there’s going to be some value leakage from Bitcoin into the altcoin space.” $NIGHT pic.twitter.com/yFAzinx4cs — Angry Crypto Show (@angrycryptoshow) January 7, 2026 Past Runs Show Rotation Into Altcoins Based on reports and past market moves, Bitcoin’s big rallies have often preceded strong gains in alternative tokens. In 2021, Bitcoin climbed to about $68,000 and several major altcoins surged afterwards. Ethereum hit roughly $4,950 in August 2025, while XRP peaked near $3.66 in July of that year. Back then, ADA topped above $3 at its peak. Those episodes are often cited as examples where profit-seeking behavior shifted from the largest coin into smaller projects. Bitcoin’s Recent Highs Did Not Help All Tokens Market watchers point out that history is not a guarantee. In October 2025, Bitcoin reached a new record of $126,198, but only a few assets rode that wave. Many altcoins stayed flat or posted modest gains. That pattern is being used by some analysts to temper expectations about how much value will “leak” from BTC into altcoins this cycle. The size of any rotation, Hoskinson himself warned, is still uncertain and could differ from earlier cycles. Liquidity and macro conditions will matter. ETF flows, trader positioning, and whether developers and users adopt new features are among the things investors will watch. A Measured Outlook Reports note that Cardano’s recent treasury spend targets stablecoins and oracle access, which could help DeFi activity on the network if projects take up the funding. Competition from other layer ones and scaling solutions is real, and capital can move quickly between chains. Related Reading: Bitcoin ETFs Bring The Heat: $1.2 Billion Flows In First 48 Hours—Analyst The view from Hoskinson is bullish on the linkage between Bitcoin highs and altcoin upside, but the evidence from late 2025 shows that link can be uneven. ADA’s recent moves — a bounce from $0.33–$0.35, a more than 10% single-day gain on January 2, and a 70 million ADA treasury allocation on January 8 — give the token practical catalysts beyond market talk. Whether those actions translate into sustained price gains will depend on broader market flows and how the allocated funds are used. Featured image from Gemini, chart from TradingView
Cardano (ADA) may be nearing the end of a multi-month corrective phase that closely resembles its 2020 setup, according to a new technical analysis video posted Wednesday by crypto analyst Quantum Ascend. The analyst argues that a similar “lower trendline reset” preceded ADA’s prior breakout cycle, and that several weekly indicators are now starting to turn. Cardano’s 2020 Fractal Is Back In a Jan. 7 video shared on X, Quantum Ascend said he is looking at ADA’s weekly chart through a macro, multi-leg corrective framework. “On a macro count for ADA, you’re looking at an A, B, C, D, and right now waiting on an E,” he said, framing the current market structure as the late stage of a broader consolidation rather than a fresh downtrend. That “E” leg matters in their model because it effectively marks the final phase of a wedge-like compression. Quantum Ascend pointed to an upper trendline, Fibonacci levels, and prior work published in a mid-December video to justify upside targets once the structure completes. “Essentially you have upper trendline, you have some Fib stuff in play, I have a conservative of five bucks, primary up there at $10,” he said. “And then after that, I think it gets ugly for crypto for a little while, so still a believer that alt season is ahead of us.” Related Reading: Is Cardano Entering a New Phase? Technical Strength, ETF Watch, and Ecosystem Direction Align The core of the argument, however, wasn’t the targets themselves, it was the claimed resemblance to an earlier Cardano correction. Quantum Ascend overlaid a historical “fractal” to highlight comparable price behavior: a move up to a similar level, a pullback, another push into resistance, and then a wick that tagged roughly the same area on the overlay. “This correction right here that I just took this from, look at how similar it is to that correction that we just had,” he said. “Obviously it’s not perfect, but if you tried to get it close from a price structure standpoint… look where that wick on 10.10 went, exactly right there.” In the analyst’s telling, that prior pattern was the market’s way of forcing ADA down to establish a lower trendline before the next expansion. “So this is the same exact move that Cardano had to come down to set the lower trendline,” he said. “So right now setting the lower trendline, before it went on a blast off.” He then referenced the scale of Cardano’s last major run as a reminder of what altcoin cycles have historically looked like when momentum turns. “And how far did it end up running? Well, it ended up going 170X from that point in time, from a penny all the way up to $3,” Quantum Ascend said, using that move as context for why double-digit targets don’t automatically fall into the “impossible” bucket during late-cycle expansions. Related Reading: Cardano Founder Addresses ADA Dump Rumors, Is He Behind The 80% Price Crash? The more immediate claim is that the upside implied by a $10 target is not unprecedented in percentage terms compared with prior alt cycles. “When you’re looking at how far that $10 mark is from where we’re at right now, I mean 22X, right? 25X,” he said. “What was this alt season back here? This alt season was just 2021… That was a 21X… So it’s not unreasonable to be looking for 24X there. And then even on the conservative side, more of a 12X.” On indicators, Quantum Ascend highlighted early signs of a weekly momentum shift rather than a confirmed breakout. “You have a completed ABC. This thing’s ready to turn back around,” he said, adding that broader market conditions looked supportive of a bounce. The analyst also pointed to the weekly RSI beginning to lift after an extended period near lows. “Look at the RSI here on the weekly, finally starting to curl up off the floor. We’ve been down on the floor since October 27th that week, finally getting a little juice.” The analyst described negative momentum as “been decreasing,” and referenced an “ABC” structure on MACD as another piece of the same turning narrative. “A lot of these major moves happen when the weekly RSI goes from low to high,” Quantum Ascend said, arguing that higher timeframes can be slower but more reliable when they finally rotate. Quantum Ascend closed by saying he remains constructive on the project even without a current position. “I am a big believer in this project. I don’t hold any right now. It’s just the way that my portfolio has worked out,” he said. “But I do believe that there’s going to be some massive upside coming to Cardano.” At press time, ADA traded at $0.3925. Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com
The Ethereum staking ecosystem is showing clear signs of tightening as demand for validators continues to rise. Participants now face a multi-week wait to enter the network. This growing staking queue reflects a structural shift in how ETH is being held and deployed less as a liquid supply and more as long-term productive capital. As more ETH becomes locked in validation, the dynamics of supply, yield, and network security are quietly being reshaped. Why Validator Delays Add Friction To Supply Re-Entry The current state of Ethereum staking highlights a growing problem with predictability. Crypto expert Dave has pointed out on X that the ETH staking entry queue is now showing an estimated wait of 25 days and 4 hours to enter. Previously, the wait time was around 7.55 days, which is a more than threefold increase in wait time over a relatively short period. Related Reading: Ethereum Staking Deposits Just Surpassed Withdrawals, Why This Could Send ETH Price Above $4,000 At the same time, the exit queue is reporting a wait time of 14 minutes, which previously sat for 44.25 days, representing a reduction of well over 4,000 times, from weeks to minutes. According to Dave, staking on a blockchain with this level of variance between entry and exit requirements is uncertain. Waiting weeks to enter while exit clears almost instantly makes staking behavior highly state-dependent and unpredictable. This contract is exactly why the expert prefers staking on Cardano, because there is no entry queue. Also, delegation is reflected on-chain immediately, and stake changes are transparent and deterministic. The only delay is a fixed active stake period of two epochs, which is 10 days before delegation changes take effect. This consistency is the difference because there are no dynamic queues, no sudden shifts, and no surprises driven by changing network states. If demand to stake on Cardano increases rapidly, it will make absolutely no difference, because predictability matters especially with monetary investments. Why Throughput Without Context Is Meaningless The headline claim of $8 trillion in stablecoin transfers on Ethereum sounds impressive, but it’s a completely meaningless metric. Crypto analyst DBCrypto noted that a single entity can move $1 billion back and forth between two wallets ten times, creating a sudden $10 billion in volume, but generating zero economic activity. Related Reading: Big Bet On Ethereum: CEO Sees 10X TVL Growth In 2026 This is why banks don’t advertise transfer volume as a growth metric, as volume without context tells nothing about utility or growth. However, crypto continues to elevate these numbers as milestones because big figures pump bags. What’s being measured here is motion and activity, not progress or value. DBCrypto concluded that until the industry stops celebrating vanity metrics, it will continue to confuse noise for signal. Featured image from Freepik, chart from Tradingview.com
Cardano (ADA) is now facing renewed scrutiny following a challenging year marked by significant price losses and a slowdown in ecosystem momentum. Over recent weeks, a combination of technical signals, governance decisions, and regulatory speculation has brought ADA back into focus. Related Reading: Bitcoin ETFs Bring The Heat: $1.2 Billion Flows In First 48 Hours—Analyst While optimism has returned to parts of the market, the network now faces a critical test: whether short-term recovery can translate into sustained progress across price, adoption, and infrastructure. ADA's price trends slightly upwards on low timeframes as seen on the daily chart. Source: ADAUSD on Tradingview Cardano’s (ADA) Technical Signals Suggest Improving Momentum Cardano’s price action has shown signs of stabilization following a decline of more than 60% in 2025. Currently, ADA formed its first golden cross of 2026, with short-term moving averages crossing above longer-term averages on both hourly and two-hour charts. ADA has also printed its first positive weekly candle in over two months, reflecting improving sentiment. At the time of writing, the token is trading around the $0.41–$0.416 range, supported by higher futures open interest and daily trading volume near recent highs. However, price remains capped by resistance near $0.401, a level that aligns with the 50-day moving average and has rejected multiple breakout attempts since late 2024. A sustained move above this zone is widely seen as necessary for further upside toward higher historical ranges. Governance Funding and Ecosystem Priorities Beyond charts, Cardano has taken steps to address ecosystem development through governance. A proposal authorizing the withdrawal of 70 million ADA for critical integrations has been ratified by the network’s governing bodies. The funding is intended to support infrastructure additions such as stablecoin integrations and oracle services, including work related to USDC, USDT, and Pyth. In parallel, the Cardano Foundation has allocated additional resources to boost stablecoin liquidity, a key requirement for competitive DeFi activity. Founder Charles Hoskinson has emphasized that future success will be measured less by short-term price movement and more by growth in metrics such as active users, total value locked, and real-world usage. The upcoming Ouroboros Leios upgrade and the planned expansion of the Midnight, a privacy-focused sidechain, are central to this strategy. ETF Expectations and the 2026 Outlook Another factor shaping expectations is the prospect of a spot Cardano ETF in the United States. While no application has been approved as of December 2025, products such as the Grayscale Cardano ADA Trust remain under SEC review, with decisions now expected in early 2026. Previous approvals of Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs have raised expectations, though analysts note that ADA faces additional scrutiny tied to classification debates. Related Reading: XRP Rally Reopens The $8–$12 Zone Debate, Says Will Taylor Taken together, Cardano enters 2026 at a pivotal moment. Technical indicators suggest a recovery, governance actions aim to strengthen the ecosystem, and regulatory developments could impact institutional access. Whether these elements align into a durable new phase will depend on execution in the months ahead. Cover image from ChatGPT, ADAUSD chart from Tradingview
Charles Hoskinson isn’t backing away from big predictions. The Cardano founder says crypto is still early, despite years of growth and repeated boom-and-bust cycles. In his view, the industry is setting up for something much larger—both in size and in reach. Related Reading: Crypto Heat Fizzling Out? US Search Interest Plunges As Retail Shy Away Today, crypto counts more than 500 million users worldwide. The combined market value already sits in the trillions, with Bitcoin alone worth about $1.75 trillion. That’s impressive, but Hoskinson argues it’s nowhere near the finish line. He believes the sector can grow to 2 billion users and hit a $10 trillion total valuation. That’s a fourfold jump in adoption and more than triple today’s market size. His timeline is clear too. Hoskinson says this could happen within the next 10 years, by 2035. Why Hoskinson Thinks Crypto Explodes From Here The key driver, according to Hoskinson, is real-world asset tokenization, often called RWA. It’s the idea of putting traditional assets—like bonds, property, and commodities—onto blockchains. This isn’t theoretical anymore. Data from RWA.xyz shows close to $20 billion worth of assets, including bonds and real estate, have already been tokenized. That number keeps climbing, even during slow market periods. UPDATE: #Cardano $ADA Founder Charles Hoskinson says the crypto industry will “grow to 2 billion users over the next 10 years and a $10 trillion market cap, because of the RWA revolution and the unification of the financial markets.” $NIGHT pic.twitter.com/F9mntPZd0I — Angry Crypto Show (@angrycryptoshow) December 28, 2025 Hoskinson says this trend changes everything. When assets move on-chain, crypto stops being just about trading tokens. It becomes financial infrastructure. Add in global payment rails and shared standards across blockchains, and you get what he calls a “unified financial market.” Privacy-focused projects also matter here. Hoskinson has pointed to initiatives like Midnight, which aim to balance compliance and privacy. He believes these tools could make institutions more comfortable bringing large pools of capital on-chain. Cardano’s Reality Check In The Market Still, Hoskinson’s optimism comes at an awkward time for his own network. Cardano (ADA) is ending the year under pressure. Selling has stayed heavy, and rallies haven’t lasted. Buying volume remains thin. Price action is stuck below key resistance levels, and momentum hasn’t flipped. As a result, ADA is hovering near important support zones. If those levels break, traders warn the token could drop below $0.30, a psychological line many are watching closely. Market activity overall has slowed, and for now, sellers are still in control. This disconnect hasn’t gone unnoticed. Critics argue Hoskinson’s push for cooperation is partly driven by Cardano’s struggle to attract users at the pace seen on other major chains. Abundance Of Wealth Hoskinson rejects the idea that crypto is a winner-takes-all game. He says the future isn’t about one chain dominating the rest. Instead, he sees room for many networks to grow together. Related Reading: Crypto Policy In The Hot Seat As US Lawmaker Calls SEC Hearing There’s lots of wealth to spread around, he’s said recently. In his view, projects with real use cases will find users naturally as the market expands. That thinking explains his openness to partnerships. Hoskinson has previously hinted at collaborations involving major ecosystems like XRP and Solana. The goal, he says, is shared growth, not tribal fights. Whether the industry reaches $10 trillion remains an open question. But here’s the thing: If RWAs keep moving on-chain and global finance truly starts to merge with crypto rails, the market Hoskinson imagines won’t sound so far-fetched anymore. Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
Comments from Galaxy Digital’s leadership have looked into what ultimately sustains value in the crypto market. In a recent YouTube discussion centered on 2026 expectations for Bitcoin, crypto, and artificial intelligence, Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz and Head of Research Alex Thorn singled out XRP and Cardano, questioning whether even the strongest communities can survive if real usage fails to expand when users have a vast number of alternatives to choose from. Galaxy Digital Leadership Raises Questions About Community Versus Utility During the YouTube discussion, Mike Novogratz presented the utility debate through the lens of capital allocation. He explained that the real question is what an investor chooses when presented with many viable options. If capital can flow into something like SpaceX, then crypto assets must compete on similar grounds. Related Reading: Charles Hoskinson Reveals What XRP And Cardano Are Already Doing 100x Better He acknowledged that XRP and Cardano both have deeply committed communities, but questioned whether that loyalty can be sustained if users do not see any real utility with those ecosystems. “Can Ripple hold it together? Can Cardano hold it together?” Novogratz said. In drawing comparisons, Novogratz referenced Charles Hoskinson, noting his success in maintaining Cardano’s community over time despite it being a “blockchain that people don’t really use a lot.” He made similar observations about XRP’s following, which has a strong community. However, he posed a direct question about sustainability: “Can you keep it together when there are more and more options?” Recent crypto market dynamics have caused capital flows to become more selective. Developers and teams behind blockchain ecosystems all know this, and this is why there has been a race to demonstrate usage, revenue models, or clear value flows tied directly to their tokens. According to Novogratz, that doesn’t happen overnight. It’s probably a year-long process, not a one to three-month process. Cardano And XRP Proving Real-World Relevance The questions raised during the Galaxy Digital discussion arrive at a time when both Cardano and XRP are actively trying to strengthen their utility narratives. Recent events have seen Cardano attempting to reinforce its practical relevance through initiatives like the Midnight sidechain. Midnight is a privacy-focused Cardano sidechain network designed to support confidential smart contracts and selective data disclosure. Related Reading: Flare Launches New Way For XRP Investors To Earn Midnight is intended as a way to attract enterprise and institutional use cases that require compliance-friendly privacy, an area where public blockchains have traditionally struggled. XRP, on the other hand, is taking a different path through Ripple’s hard work to increase the utility of the XRP Ledger. Ripple has been expanding utility around Ripple USD (RLUSD), its US dollar-backed stablecoin, including broader deployment across multiple Layer-2 networks. Ripple has also been on a partnership spree this year in moves to strengthen the utility of the XRP ecosystem, with about $4 billion spent on major acquisitions in 2025. The company also recently partnered with Doppler Finance to explore collaboration in XRP-based yield infrastructure and real-world asset (RWA) tokenization on the XRP Ledger, which is another added utility. Featured image from Pxfuel, chart from Tradingview.com
Can Ripple and Cardano hold it together as the market matures to fundamental-focused projects, Galaxy's Novogratz asked Friday.
Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has stepped forward to address swirling rumors that he dumped his ADA holdings, sparking concerns about his potential role in the altcoin’s dramatic 80% price crash. Amid speculation and social media chatter, Hoskinson firmly denies the claims, insisting he did not personally contribute to the decline by offloading his assets. Cardano Founder Denies Claims Of Selling ADA Despite the festive holiday season, Hoskinson was bombarded with accusations of contributing to ADA’s 80% price crash over the past four years. Initially, the Cardano founder took to X on December 25 to share an optimistic message for 2026, encouraging holders and community members not to lose hope. Related Reading: What The New Mightnight Launch Means For The Cardano Network He emphasized that despite the challenges of the past years, there is much to look forward to in 2026. He extended holiday greetings and expressed appreciation for the Cardano community, including members like @injective_pie, who has been vocal about ADA’s price performance and its blockchain’s progress over the years. While many responded positively to Hoskinson’s messages and holiday greetings, @injective_pie confronted him directly, accusing him of dumping ADA. The community member questioned the Cardano founder about selling his ADA at $3 and not buying back at lower levels around $0.3, suggesting that such actions could undermine trust in the crypto project. Hoskinson swiftly dismissed these allegations, insisting that he did not dump his ADA and that false narratives do not change reality. The member’s response highlighted the tension between the Cardano founder and some skeptical segments of the community. It also underscored the ongoing dissatisfaction with the current price of ADA. Notably, frustration among ADA investors has been growing over the years, as the cryptocurrency has failed to regain its all-time highs. Since its 2021 peak, the Cardano price has steadily declined, most recently dropping toward $0.35 after crashing by over 3% this week. Year-to-date, the altcoin has fallen by more than 50%, underscoring the prolonged challenges facing the network despite its strong community support. Cardano’s underperformance stands in contrast to other major cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, which reached new ATHs this year. Even with its surging daily trading volume of more than 96%, ADA has yet to show any significant upward momentum, declining even more as the broader market navigates ongoing bearish pressures. ADA Price Weakens Further As Open Interest Drops Amidst sluggish price action, data from Coinglass shows that ADA Futures Open Interest (OI) has declined from $1.72 billion in October 2025 to $651 million as of December 26. This massive change represents a steep decline of more than 62% in less than three months. Related Reading: Cardano Founder Reveals “Game Plan” For 2026, But Can ADA Price Still Recover? With key fundamentals deteriorating and market sentiment weakening, additional pressure has been placed on ADA’s price. On-chain data also shows that Cardano’s Fear & Greed Index stands at 37, firmly placed in the fear zone, as the price continues to trend lower. Featured image from Unsplash, chart from Tradingview.com
Cardano (ADA) is closing out 2025 caught between muted price action and a growing debate about where real value may emerge next within its ecosystem. Related Reading: Dogecoin: Why This One Price Level Is Drawing All the Attention While ADA continues to trade under pressure near the mid-$0.30 range, founder Charles Hoskinson has shifted attention away from short-term price movements toward longer-term structural developments, particularly within Cardano’s decentralized finance and security roadmap. The contrast between weak market sentiment and expanding ecosystem narratives has become one of the defining features of Cardano’s current phase. ADA's price trends to the downside on the daily chart. Source: ADAUSD on Tradingview ADA Price Weakness Reflects Broader Caution Cardano (ADA) remains in a consolidation pattern after slipping below $0.37, weighed down by persistent selling pressure and declining risk appetite across the altcoin market. On-chain data shows that large holders are reducing their exposure, with tens of millions of tokens being redistributed over recent days. Derivatives metrics reinforce this cautious stance, as short positions continue to outnumber longs and momentum indicators remain subdued. Technically, ADA is trading below key moving averages, keeping the near-term outlook fragile. Analysts identify the $0.35 level as a critical support zone, with a deeper decline toward the $0.27–$0.30 range possible if sentiment deteriorates further. Founder Urges Patience on Security and Infrastructure Against this backdrop, Hoskinson has used recent commentary to address longer-term challenges rather than short-term volatility. Hoskinson has warned against rushing into post-quantum cryptography upgrades, arguing that while the tools already exist, deploying them prematurely could impose heavy performance costs on blockchains. Larger signatures and slower verification, he noted, could undermine scalability long before quantum computers become a practical threat. Hoskinson’s position reframes the security debate around timing rather than urgency. While global standards for post-quantum cryptography are now finalized, he maintains that readiness depends on hardware capabilities, network economics, and validator incentives. DEXes Framed as Long-Term Opportunity Hoskinson has also highlighted what he sees as a valuation disconnect within Cardano’s DeFi sector. Responding to recent activity around the privacy-focused sidechain Midnight and its token NIGHT, he argued that trading volumes on Cardano-based decentralized exchanges remain low relative to their potential. Stablecoins and cross-chain bridges remain central to this thesis. Without deep liquidity and reliable settlement assets, Cardano’s DEX ecosystem struggles to compete with more mature networks. Hoskinson suggested that once these components are in place, decentralized exchange activity could expand significantly, framing the current period as one of accumulation rather than stagnation. Currently, Cardano’s market narrative remains split. ADA’s price reflects caution and consolidation, while ecosystem development points to longer-term optionality. Related Reading: Altcoin Season Index Crashes To Low 17 As Bitcoin Price Struggles, What This Means Whether that divergence ultimately narrows will depend less on short-term charts and more on how effectively Cardano converts infrastructure progress into sustained on-chain activity. Cover image from ChatGPT, ADAUSD chart from Tradingview
US spot crypto ETFs have attracted more than $70 billion in net inflows since January 2024, making traditional financial investment vehicles the primary entry point for new money into the emerging industry. That surge, driven by products linked to Bitcoin, Ethereum, and more recently Solana and XRP, has validated the industry’s view that many investors […]
The post Crypto index ETFs will dominate 2026 because the SEC is about to break the single-asset model appeared first on CryptoSlate.
Cardano is signaling a fundamental shift from the network's roots in academic research toward a commercially driven “operating system” model. On Dec. 17, the Intersect Product Committee released a report titled “Vision 2030,” outlining a strict set of performance benchmarks intended to redefine how the market values the network. Intersect, the member-based organization tasked with […]
The post Cardano’s new roadmap assumes a 500% price explosion to mask an alarming gap in real protocol revenue appeared first on CryptoSlate.