ADA is trading at about $0.73; however, thereâs growing optimism that it could be on its way to $1.
Everyoneâs also waiting for the reveal of the Glacier Airdrop dates and the SECâs decision regarding ADA-linked ETFs.
Cardano (ADA) has had a rough week, dropping about 8% over the last seven days and slipping slightly again in the past 24 hours, now trading at around $0.73. Right now, ADA is facing some resistance in the $0.75â$0.80 range, but if it can break past $0.92, analysts believe it could open the door for a run to $1.50 or even higher.
Interestingly, derivatives volume has jumped 36.05% to $1.49 billion, showing strong speculative interest, while open interest dipped just slightly by 0.03% to $1.27 billion.
Data from DefiLlama shows that Cardanoâs Total Value Locked (TVL) continues to climb and is now sitting at $335 million, showing steady growth in its DeFi ecosystem and increasing network activity. With these key developments, thereâs growing optimism that ADA could get the push it needs to test the $1 mark.
1. The Midnight Sidechain
Cardano is preparing to launch its Midnight sidechain. This is a privacy-focused platform built on zero-knowledge cryptography. This network is designed to bring confidential smart contracts and seamless cross-chain DeFi to life. Founder Charles Hoskinson even called it âthe single biggest economic event in the history of Cardano.â
Soon, Cardano will be rolling out the Glacier Drop, a massive airdrop of 24 billion NIGHT tokens. Over 37 million users across eight different blockchains, including ADA, Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Ripple (XRP), Solana (SOL), BNB, Avalanche (AVAX), and BAT, will be eligible. Half of those tokens are reserved for ADA holders, 20% will go to Bitcoin holders, and the rest will be spread across the other networks.
Midnight is already live on testnet, and the mainnet launch is expected 90 days after the Glacier Drop. As for the exact airdrop date? That remains a mystery for now and will be revealed during the Rare Evo event, starting on August 6 and ending on August 10.
2. Surging Institutional Investment
Institutional confidence in Cardano is on the rise, with roughly $73 million flowing into ADA so far in 2025. This backing from players has sparked conversations about a U.S.-listed Cardano ETF, filed by Grayscale and expected to be reviewed by October 2025. Analysts view this as a clear sign of trust in ADAâs real-world utility and long-term potential.
Cardanoâs strong appeal lies in its commitment to scalability, security, and sustainability, qualities institutions are increasingly looking for in blockchain networks. To boost this, Cardanoâs main development team, Input Output Global (IOG), received approval to tap 96 million ADA, worth about US$71 million (AU$109 million), directly from the networkâs treasury.
This funding will power a 12-month development plan focused on scaling with protocols like Hydra, improving developer tools, streamlining onboarding through Project Acropolis, and boosting cross-chain compatibility. The release of funds will be milestone-based, ensuring that each phase of development hits key performance goals.
3. Bitcoin Interoperability
Recently, a tool called BitcoinOS (BOS) made history by completing the first bridgeless, nonâcustodial transfer of 1 BTC between the Bitcoin network and the Cardano network, and back again. It did this using xBTC, a peg-to-Bitcoin token on Cardano, created and redeemed via zero-knowledge proofs, part of the BitSNARK system.
The technology behind this? Cardano uses its extended UTXO model, which pairs surprisingly well with Bitcoinâs native structure. Protocols like BitVMX and the Cardinal system allow Bitcoin Ordinals, unique, traceable satoshi-level inscriptions, to be imported onto Cardanoâs mainnet.
In a recent interview, Charles Hoskinson highlighted how closely the two ecosystems are now linked. He even suggested that while Bitcoin might deliver a solid 10x return, Cardano has the potential for gains anywhere from 100x to 1,000x, thanks to innovations like this.
