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3 Warning Signs That It's Time to Sell Cardano

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3 Warning Signs That It's Time to Sell Cardano

Cardano's competitors are attracting more attention, capital, and talent. They're also getting more adoption and perhaps more favorable regulatory treatment. Its latest tech upgrades aren't exactly wowing the market. 10 stocks we like better than Cardano › Few investments age gracefully when the world around them speeds up. The same pressure applies in crypto. Builders, investors, and users do not wait politely for laggards to catch up; they migrate to speed, liquidity, and, most of all, excitement. That reality now confronts Cardano (CRYPTO: ADA), which was once celebrated for its emphasis on peer-reviewed research to advance its underlying technology, as well as for its deliberate pace of technical progress. Three red flags, in particular, suggest that the project risks permanent middle-of-the-pack status unless something changes quickly. Let's check out each of these warning signs in detail. In the crypto world, developers are the lifeblood of a blockchain. They build decentralized apps (dApps), protocols, and tools that generate utility, liquidity, and real-world adoption. A thriving developer ecosystem attracts users, capital, and other partners, creating a virtuous cycle that drives a chain's value and growth. Without them, even the most technically sound chain can remain a ghost town. In terms of developer activity in Cardano's ecosystem, it doesn't hold up very well against its chief competitors, Ethereum and Solana. Per Cryptometheus, a cryptocurrency data provider, Solana had 499 active developers, and Cardano had just 175 developers pushing updates for the week, down 33% from three months ago. Furthermore, developers flow toward concentrations of capital, and that capital is pooling elsewhere. Fidelity, a major asset manager, filed in March to list a Solana exchange-traded fund (ETF). Bloomberg now pegs the approval odds of that ETF at 90% for 2025, which would be an institutional seal of approval that no Cardano product enjoys. Meanwhile, Solana's total value locked (TVL) on its chain was nearly $12 billion in January and currently rests at around $8.6 billion. Cardano's TVL is just $331.6 million, down from $680.8 million in early December 2024. That means there's less real money parked on its chain. And when builders, money, and regulators all prefer the other options, it's a big problem. Blockchains tend to have technical constraints. Sometimes, those constraints are troublesome enough for users that the main engineers of the chain create big new modules or other solutions in an attempt to prevent the flight of disaffected investors, users, or ecosystem developers. The success or failure of those solutions is, thus, often a major factor in determining whether to invest in the chain's native token. And in Cardano's case, the record with successfully developing workarounds to the chain's issues isn't great, at least not in recent times. Cardano's Layer-2 (L2) system, Hydra, dazzled testers with a 1 million transactions-per-second (TPS) demo last December, implicitly promising to solve the issue of lethargic transaction times during periods of peak load. L2s like Hydra are designed to handle transactions off the main blockchain, reducing congestion and perhaps also fees while maintaining security and interoperability. But they only matter if users adopt them and volume grows. Otherwise, they're tech demos, not adoption drivers. Five months after launch, no major exchange, payment processor, or other project has committed to using Hydra beyond a pilot. Another solution, called Midnight, is a side chain, which means it's a parallel network intended for specialized features such as privacy, among others. Side chains can extend a blockchain's functionality by providing specialized services that don't burden the main chain. Midnight aims to attract institutional users who want confidential holding of assets on the chain, but so far, no major financial players have signed on, and no real user base exists. These technical marvels might eventually matter. But until developers, institutions, or users adopt them, they remain tantalizing but empty promises. And that's a big warning sign that Cardano is failing to match its development of capabilities to the features that are actually in demand. Crypto is a popularity contest masquerading as a set of technologies. On June 4, Cardano counted around 23,273 daily active addresses, whereas Solana cleared nearly 5 million in the same day. That gap widens whenever meme coin mania or non-fungible token (NFT) drops spark traffic spikes. Those are segments where Cardano barely registers, as its ecosystem is very sparse in both areas. Social chatter mirrors the numbers. Per data from Santiment, a crypto data aggregator, Cardano ranks far below Ethereum and Solana in terms of social media post volume, hinting that investor excitement has simply remained elsewhere. If users, developers, and institutions are not talking about Cardano now, why would they flock to it later? In other words, Cardano's investment thesis -- that academic rigor in the tech development process will eventually lead to late-bloomer dominance -- faces mounting counter-evidence. Unless Hydra suddenly wins real traffic or Midnight lands marquee clients, the token's upside may remain capped while the opportunity cost mounts. And there's just not much evidence to suggest that's happening, nor is there any reason to believe it will soon. Before you buy stock in Cardano, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Cardano wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $669,517!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $868,615!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 792% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 171% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 2, 2025 Alex Carchidi has positions in Ethereum and Solana. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Ethereum and Solana. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. 3 Warning Signs That It's Time to Sell Cardano was originally published by The Motley Fool Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data

1 Top Cryptocurrency to Buy Before It Soars 6,220%, According to Cathie Wood

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13 hours ago

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1 Top Cryptocurrency to Buy Before It Soars 6,220%, According to Cathie Wood

Ethereum faces competition from newer proof-of-stake blockchains that are more energy efficient. But its network upgrades and new ETFs could bring back the bulls. Investors should take ARK Invest's over-the-top estimates with a grain of salt. 10 stocks we like better than Ethereum › Ether (CRYPTO: ETH), the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum blockchain, lost more than 30% of its value over the past 12 months. Its first spot-price ETFs were approved last July, but those funds didn't attract as much attention as Bitcoin's (CRYPTO: BTC) earlier ETFs. Instead, Ether seemed to be held back by concerns about competition from newer and faster blockchains, its slowing network activity, and the Trump Administration's unpredictable tariffs. Nevertheless, some investors remain fiercely bullish on Ether's future. One of those bulls is ARK Invest's Cathie Wood, who believes Ether's price could reach $166,000 by 2032. That would represent a gain of nearly 6,220% and boost its market cap to more than $20 trillion. Bitcoin, which Wood is also bullish on, currently has a market cap of $2 trillion. Could Ether skyrocket to those levels, or should investors maintain more realistic expectations? Ethereum originally ran on a proof-of-work (PoW) mechanism like Bitcoin. This meant it needed to be mined by GPUs or other chips. But in 2022, Ethereum transitioned to the proof-of-stake (PoS) mechanism, which was roughly 99% more power efficient than the PoW mechanism. So instead of being mined, Ether is now staked (or locked up for rewards) on the Ethereum blockchain. Ethereum's transformation into a PoS blockchain also enabled it to support smart contracts, which are used to develop decentralized apps (dApps), non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and other crypto assets. Bitcoin's PoW blockchain doesn't support smart contracts. Therefore, Ether's value is often linked to Ethereum's popularity as a development platform. Bitcoin is still valued by its scarcity and limited supply -- since 19.6 million of its maximum supply of 21 million tokens have already been mined. Ether doesn't have a fixed maximum supply, but its overall supply declines when its network activity rises. That's because a portion of every transaction fee in Ether is burned. But when Ethereum's network activity slows down, its supply rises as more Ether tokens are created than burned. So while Bitcoin is always deflationary, Ether can be both inflationary and deflationary. But to remain a popular platform for developers and investors, it needs to keep providing fast transaction times with low fees. That's becoming increasingly difficult as faster and cheaper PoS blockchains like Solana and Cardano challenge Ethereum. Solana processes transactions much faster than Ethereum, while Cardano usually offers lower fees. Ether's next big upgrade -- The Verge -- aims to upgrade its security features and lower its hardware requirements so it can run on smaller devices like smartphones, wearables, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices. It also aims to reduce its off-chain Layer 2 (L2) fees with a series of upgrades for its network to clear more space for fresh data. Those upgrades could help it indirectly reduce its congestion issues by absorbing some of its core Layer 1 (L1) network traffic. Assuming those upgrades bring in more developers and investors, its network activity will increase, reduce its supply, and stabilize Ether's price. Another potential catalyst would be the approval of new spot-price ETFs with staking features. The first batch of Ether's spot-price ETFs only held Ether in cold storage and didn't pass on any of its interest-like staking rewards. The next batch could pass on those rewards (about 3% to 5% annually) and make them more appealing. However, Ether could still be held back by competition from other PoS blockchains, a lack of approvals for new ETFs with staking rewards, or the messy macro environment that is curbing the market's appetite for cryptocurrencies and other speculative investments. Wood believes Ether's value will rise as Ethereum becomes a foundational layer of a new digital financial ecosystem that challenges traditional banks with decentralized finance (DeFi) apps, NFTs, and tokenized versions of real-world assets. She also expects Ether's staking yield to become more appealing than the yields of U.S. Treasuries as interest rates decline, and for the approvals of new staking ETFs to bring in even more institutional investors. Just as with Bitcoin, Wood expects the growing institutional adoption of Ether over the next few years to drive its price a lot higher. That thesis sounds reasonable, but claiming it could reach a $20 trillion market cap within the next seven years -- compared to gold's current market cap of $3.4 trillion -- seems too bullish. So while it might be smart to accumulate Ether as it rolls out new networking upgrades, attracts more developers, burns more tokens, and gains more attention with new ETFs, we should take Cathie Wood's forecasts with a grain of salt. It will probably stabilize and rise higher, but its long-term value isn't that easy to gauge. Before you buy stock in Ethereum, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Ethereum wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $669,517!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $868,615!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 792% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 171% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 2, 2025 Leo Sun has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. 1 Top Cryptocurrency to Buy Before It Soars 6,220%, According to Cathie Wood was originally published by The Motley Fool

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14 hours ago

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1 Top Cryptocurrency to Buy Before It Soars 6,220%, According to Cathie Wood

Ethereum faces competition from newer proof-of-stake blockchains that are more energy efficient. But its network upgrades and new ETFs could bring back the bulls. Investors should take ARK Invest's over-the-top estimates with a grain of salt. 10 stocks we like better than Ethereum › Ether (CRYPTO: ETH), the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum blockchain, lost more than 30% of its value over the past 12 months. Its first spot-price ETFs were approved last July, but those funds didn't attract as much attention as Bitcoin's (CRYPTO: BTC) earlier ETFs. Instead, Ether seemed to be held back by concerns about competition from newer and faster blockchains, its slowing network activity, and the Trump Administration's unpredictable tariffs. Nevertheless, some investors remain fiercely bullish on Ether's future. One of those bulls is ARK Invest's Cathie Wood, who believes Ether's price could reach $166,000 by 2032. That would represent a gain of nearly 6,220% and boost its market cap to more than $20 trillion. Bitcoin, which Wood is also bullish on, currently has a market cap of $2 trillion. Could Ether skyrocket to those levels, or should investors maintain more realistic expectations? Ethereum originally ran on a proof-of-work (PoW) mechanism like Bitcoin. This meant it needed to be mined by GPUs or other chips. But in 2022, Ethereum transitioned to the proof-of-stake (PoS) mechanism, which was roughly 99% more power efficient than the PoW mechanism. So instead of being mined, Ether is now staked (or locked up for rewards) on the Ethereum blockchain. Ethereum's transformation into a PoS blockchain also enabled it to support smart contracts, which are used to develop decentralized apps (dApps), non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and other crypto assets. Bitcoin's PoW blockchain doesn't support smart contracts. Therefore, Ether's value is often linked to Ethereum's popularity as a development platform. Bitcoin is still valued by its scarcity and limited supply -- since 19.6 million of its maximum supply of 21 million tokens have already been mined. Ether doesn't have a fixed maximum supply, but its overall supply declines when its network activity rises. That's because a portion of every transaction fee in Ether is burned. But when Ethereum's network activity slows down, its supply rises as more Ether tokens are created than burned. So while Bitcoin is always deflationary, Ether can be both inflationary and deflationary. But to remain a popular platform for developers and investors, it needs to keep providing fast transaction times with low fees. That's becoming increasingly difficult as faster and cheaper PoS blockchains like Solana and Cardano challenge Ethereum. Solana processes transactions much faster than Ethereum, while Cardano usually offers lower fees. Ether's next big upgrade -- The Verge -- aims to upgrade its security features and lower its hardware requirements so it can run on smaller devices like smartphones, wearables, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices. It also aims to reduce its off-chain Layer 2 (L2) fees with a series of upgrades for its network to clear more space for fresh data. Those upgrades could help it indirectly reduce its congestion issues by absorbing some of its core Layer 1 (L1) network traffic. Assuming those upgrades bring in more developers and investors, its network activity will increase, reduce its supply, and stabilize Ether's price. Another potential catalyst would be the approval of new spot-price ETFs with staking features. The first batch of Ether's spot-price ETFs only held Ether in cold storage and didn't pass on any of its interest-like staking rewards. The next batch could pass on those rewards (about 3% to 5% annually) and make them more appealing. However, Ether could still be held back by competition from other PoS blockchains, a lack of approvals for new ETFs with staking rewards, or the messy macro environment that is curbing the market's appetite for cryptocurrencies and other speculative investments. Wood believes Ether's value will rise as Ethereum becomes a foundational layer of a new digital financial ecosystem that challenges traditional banks with decentralized finance (DeFi) apps, NFTs, and tokenized versions of real-world assets. She also expects Ether's staking yield to become more appealing than the yields of U.S. Treasuries as interest rates decline, and for the approvals of new staking ETFs to bring in even more institutional investors. Just as with Bitcoin, Wood expects the growing institutional adoption of Ether over the next few years to drive its price a lot higher. That thesis sounds reasonable, but claiming it could reach a $20 trillion market cap within the next seven years -- compared to gold's current market cap of $3.4 trillion -- seems too bullish. So while it might be smart to accumulate Ether as it rolls out new networking upgrades, attracts more developers, burns more tokens, and gains more attention with new ETFs, we should take Cathie Wood's forecasts with a grain of salt. It will probably stabilize and rise higher, but its long-term value isn't that easy to gauge. Before you buy stock in Ethereum, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Ethereum wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $669,517!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $868,615!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 792% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 171% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 2, 2025 Leo Sun has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. 1 Top Cryptocurrency to Buy Before It Soars 6,220%, According to Cathie Wood was originally published by The Motley Fool Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data

Matter Labs, ZKsync Developer, Sued for Alleged Intellectual Property Theft

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3 Warning Signs That It's Time to Sell Cardano

1 Top Cryptocurrency to Buy Before It Soars 6,220%, According to Cathie Wood

1 Top Cryptocurrency to Buy Before It Soars 6,220%, According to Cathie Wood

Matter Labs, ZKsync Developer, Sued for Alleged Intellectual Property Theft

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3 Warning Signs That It's Time to Sell Cardano

1 Top Cryptocurrency to Buy Before It Soars 6,220%, According to Cathie Wood

1 Top Cryptocurrency to Buy Before It Soars 6,220%, According to Cathie Wood

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