Recently, the Cardano (ADA) ecosystem has been very active. On one side, key figures from the project have released strong bullish signals, along with significant regulatory benefits; on the other hand, the token price has consistently struggled to break through key thresholds, leading to increasing valuation discrepancies in the market, making it a focal topic of discussion within the crypto industry.
As the CEO of Input Output, the company behind the Cardano project, Charles Hoskinson has always been the "core spokesperson" of the ecosystem. Recently, he made a striking post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), publicly claiming that "Cardano will disrupt the internet," sparking enthusiastic discussions within the community. Based on his past statements and Cardano's technical roadmap, this assertion is not merely a slogan — Cardano adopts a unique "scientific philosophy" development model, advancing technological iterations based on peer-reviewed academic research, and possesses differentiated advantages in aspects such as layered architecture (separating settlement and computation layers), environmentally friendly consensus mechanisms (Ouroboros), and cross-chain interoperability. Hoskinson has repeatedly emphasized in public speeches that Cardano's goal is to build a "safer and more sustainable decentralized application platform," especially in emerging markets like Africa, where it has already accumulated certain case studies in blockchain implementation. This statement of "disrupting the internet" seems more like a further reinforcement of its long-term ecological vision, attempting to attract more developers and investors' attention.
In addition to the optimistic expectations of the founder, Cardano has recently welcomed key regulatory benefits. According to the latest news, Hoskinson made a special trip to Washington D.C., during which he communicated with several political figures and representatives from regulatory agencies. He later revealed in an interview that significant progress has been made in U.S. cryptocurrency legislation, especially in defining the attributes of digital assets and clarifying the regulatory framework for the industry. This is expected to provide a friendlier development environment for compliant projects like Cardano. More notably, the multi-token ETF (Exchange-Traded Fund) launched by asset management giant Grayscale has officially been approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and Cardano (ADA) is one of the core tokens included in this ETF. This news is seen by the market as an 'important breakthrough signal'—the SEC had been extremely cautious in approving crypto ETFs, especially since multi-token ETFs cover more complex asset types. This approval not only signifies that ADA's compliance has been recognized by mainstream financial institutions but will also bring incremental funds from traditional capital markets. In this regard, renowned crypto analyst Nate Geraci clearly stated that Grayscale's multi-token ETF will cover various groups, including traditional funds and individual investors. Given the current market demand for compliant crypto products, it is expected that the launch of this ETF will bring 'strong capital inflows' to ADA.
However, the positive news has not fully translated into price momentum, and Cardano (ADA) currently still faces significant valuation challenges. As of press time, ADA is quoted at $0.922, which, although showing some increase since the beginning of the year, still struggles to break through the crucial psychological barrier of $1—this price point is not only an important recognition node for the market regarding its 'mainstream token identity' but also a significant resistance level after the peak of the 2021 bull market. Data shows that ADA reached an all-time high of $3.10 in 2021, and the current price has dropped about 70% from that peak, far exceeding the pullback range of Bitcoin and Ethereum during the same period. Critics point out that the core issue facing Cardano is the 'disconnection between technological implementation and market expectations': although its technological architecture is recognized within the industry, the number of quality decentralized applications (DApps) in the ecosystem, user activity, and the speed of expanding actual use cases all lag behind competitors like Ethereum and Solana; furthermore, the crypto market is currently still primarily 'narrative-driven', and while Cardano's 'academic development model' is robust, it lacks sufficient short-term appeal to attract ordinary investors, resulting in insufficient capital attraction.
From the perspective of market sentiment, there is a clear divergence in current investor opinions on ADA: Optimists believe that with the incremental funds brought by the Grayscale ETF, combined with the ongoing implementation of the Vasil hard fork upgrade in the Cardano ecosystem (optimizing smart contract performance), ADA is expected to break through $1 and usher in a new wave of growth between 2024-2025; on the other hand, cautious investors worry that if there are no breakthrough ecological advancements in the short term, relying solely on positive news will be insufficient to reverse the long-term downward trend, and it may even further decline during overall market volatility.
For ordinary investors, it is necessary to rationally view Cardano's 'benefits and challenges': on one hand, the founder's vision and the approval of the ETF indeed provide long-term value support for the ecosystem; on the other hand, the token price is influenced by multiple factors such as market sentiment, ecological progress, and the macro environment, and short-term fluctuations and adjustments may still continue. Stay tuned to Crypto Old East, as we will continue to track the progress of the Cardano ecosystem, the fund flows of the Grayscale ETF, and ADA's price dynamics to bring you more timely and in-depth market interpretations.
