There’s controversy about the question, ‘Is Cardano dead?’ Due to Cardano’s proven stability and history, many consider it a blue-chip cryptocurrency. However, ADA, its native token, hasn’t experienced the same price surge that other cryptos like BTC or ETH have in the last year.

Although ADA’s price tends to follow the crypto market, the token doesn’t show the same level of excitement as other top coins. There are even some jokes about Cardano being many people’s favorite stablecoin. So, what’s the current state, and what can people expect

Is Cardano Dead in 2024?

Despite struggling against many other cryptocurrencies, Cardano is still very much alive, and the project keeps finding real-world uses for blockchain technology.

  • Decentralization: Introducing a treasury funded by gas fees and decentralized voting can make Cardano independent of IO Global. Thanks to the transaction-funded treasury, there are ongoing developments and improvements.
  • Slow and steady growth: Cardano’s long-term price movement reflects the project’s gradual development. Unlike other cryptocurrencies, it doesn’t experience as many speculative bubbles and tends to attract more long-term investors.
  • Real-world uses: Cardano stands out among other blockchains in terms of many real-world uses and partnerships.

What Is the Current State of Cardano ADA?

In 2015, Charles Hoskinson, a co-founder of Ethereum, started developing Cardano. The project competes with Solana, Ethereum, and other smart-contract blockchains. In 2017, Cardano’s mainnet network launched. This project is unique because its roots grew from corporate backing, with OI Global backing Cardano’s development.

This gave Cardano the needed support during development and helped secure real-world uses for the blockchain, like collaborations with mobile carriers and blockchain-based ID verification for governments. Eventually, Cardano will be decentralized, and ADA will be used as a governance token for voting and as fuel for the network.

Cardano’s development goals are organized around ‘eras,’ with each era dedicated to specific objectives, like introducing smart contracts or scaling improvements. So, what happened to Cardano?

Like many other cryptocurrencies, Cardano peaked in 2021 and crashed throughout 2022 and 2023. While Ethereum, Bitcoin, and Solana have all recovered well, Cardano has struggled to keep pace.

Its current price is $0.3434. Cardano has recently achieved a substantial milestone, hosting Argentina’s first legally enforceable smart contract. The latest news also reveals that Charles Hoskinson criticizes the crypto community for opposing him and asserts that Cardano is the sole authentic cryptocurrency remaining. Currently, 2025 price predictions are optimistic, anticipating a new all-time high of $4.

What Is the Crypto Community’s Response?

Bitcoin supporters recognize Cardano as an innovative platform but find it far from Bitcoin’s security, stability, and global adoption. Moreover, Cardano faces criticism from its community, primarily because of its slow development process. Critics consider that its rigorous scientific approach might impede adoption and timely updates.

Cardano’s community is experiencing internal conflicts. Members are criticizing Hoskinsons for transparency and leadership issues, especially regarding stablecoin implementation.

All of this could be why Cardano did crash. While the reasons are multifaceted, including slow development and market downturns, the community continues to focus on its future, recently celebrating ADA Lovelace Day, honoring ADA’s legacy, and emphasizing the project’s commitment to innovation.

Bullish Arguments for Cardano’s Future

Will Cardano ever go back up? Let’s explore the bullish arguments:

  • Technological Advancements: The advancements in Cardano are largely based on proposals that have been reviewed by peers. For instance, Mithril and similar improvements are thoroughly reviewed by some of the finest crypto minds. Testnets offer sandboxed chain versions, providing extensive testing before usage.
  • Strong Community and Ecosystem: Cardano has a particularly devoted following within the crypto community. Charles Hoskinson’s frequent ‘fireside chats’ on YouTube represent a gathering place for ADA holders and interested investors. Staking rewards also unite the community, with around 66% of ADA’s circulating supply typically staked to secure the network.
  • High-Profile Partnerships: The backing and stability of the Cardano Foundation, IO Global, and Emergo enable Cardano to build use cases and partnerships not available to other crypto networks. Pragma and Intersect also support Cardano. In 2021, Cardano was in the headlines because of its partnerships with businesses and governments. The Minister of Education of Ethiopia stated they were working with Cardano to develop a blockchain-based system for tracking student performance.

Bearish Arguments for Cardano’s Future

Then again, there are also some bearish arguments for the project’s future.

  • dApp Ecosystem on Cardano: The growth of TVL on Cardano faces challenges due to the restricted availability of dApps and the absence of a widely recognized stablecoin on the platform. The recent launch of the Mehen USD-backed stablecoin may help increase the network’s activity and the dApp selection on Cardano. Still, Cardano doesn’t support the popular USDC and USDT stablecoins. It’s why many wonder if ADA is “dead,” referring to it as a ghost chain due to the lack of dApps compared to similar networks and the numerous failed tokens on the network.
  • Adoption Barriers: Cardano uses its own programmable language and isn’t compatible with EVM, making it difficult to attract a developer base and impeding popular apps from being adopted from Ethereum. For instance, the largest Cardano dApp measures $54 million in TVL, while the largest Ethereum dApp boasts $29 billion in TVL.
  • The Development Pace: As mentioned, most criticism toward Cardano is due to its slow development pace, which may also impact price movement. Tokens for comparable networks, such as Solana, are traded based on hype and the increase in TVL, which measures the usage of smart contracts on the network. Ethereum is the leader in TVL, accounting for over 60% of the TVL for all chains. Solana holds the fourth position, representing just under five percent of the TVL for all chains. In comparison, Cardano is categorized under “Others” and ranks 29th in TVL.

Conclusion

Due to Cardano’s proven stability and history, many consider it a blue-chip cryptocurrency. However, ADA, its native token, hasn’t experienced the same price surge that other cryptos like BTC or ETH have in the last year. Moreover, the project also faces criticism from its own community because of its slow development process, leading to a popular question nowadays: Is Cardano dead?

Despite struggling against many other cryptocurrencies, Cardano is not dead. The project keeps finding real-world uses for blockchain technology. It recently achieved a substantial milestone, hosting Argentina’s first legally enforceable smart contract. So, will Cardano survive? Looking forward, price predictions are optimistic. Still, there are both bullish and bearish arguments about Cardano’s future.

FAQs

Will Cardano ever recover?

Does Cardano have a future?

Is Cardano Blockchain dead?