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Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
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
Forbes
24-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Cardano Beats Ethereum In Core Dev Activity: Will This Power An ADA Price Surge?
Cardano now leads in core developer activity, making it the most actively developed blockchain. Cardano surpassed Ethereum in core developer activity this month, making it the most actively developed blockchain, according to data from Cryptometheus. Over the past year, Cardano recorded 21,439 GitHub commits, representing developer activity, highlighting its strong focus on continuous innovation. This surge in developer engagement could be a bullish signal for Cardano's native cryptocurrency, ADA. As Cardano's technical ecosystem expands, the question remains whether this momentum will translate into price gains for ADA. This article will explore what this developer surge means for Cardano, how Cardano differs from Ethereum and whether it could drive a price increase for ADA. Cardano's ongoing development follows a step-by-step roadmap. The process began with the Byron era, which focused on building the network's foundation. During this phase, users could buy and sell ADA, Cardano's native token, while the network relied on a Proof of Stake system called Ouroboros for security. Next came the Shelley era, where network control shifted from a few central nodes to a broader group of community participants. This change improved security and resilience by reducing reliance on a small group of operators. The Goguen era brought smart contract functionality, allowing developers to build decentralized applications on Cardano. It also enabled support for various digital assets, including standard tokens and non-fungible tokens, making the network more versatile. The Basho era then focused on scalability, using sidechains, which are separate but connected blockchains, to enhance performance and handle more transactions. Cardano is now in the Voltaire era, which emphasizes self-governance. This phase includes a voting and treasury system that lets users influence network upgrades and decide how funds are spent, giving the community greater control over Cardano's future. Cardano became the most active blockchain in core developer work, with 21,143 GitHub updates spread across 550 key projects during the tracked period. This high level of engagement reflects a strong focus on maintaining and improving Cardano's core technology. However, despite this achievement, Cardano has seen a decline in overall ecosystem engagement, with active developers dropping by 37.72% month-over-month and total commit contributions decreasing by 65.68%. This suggests that while Cardano's core is being actively developed, its broader ecosystem may be losing momentum. On the other hand, Eethereum remains one of the most active blockchain projects but has experienced a decline in core developer activity. Over the same period, Ethereum recorded 20,752 GitHub commits across 278 core repositories, placing it second in developer engagement. The Ethereum ecosystem is vast, with 1,545 active projects and 132,505 public GitHub repositories. However, developer participation has also declined, with a 40.56% drop in active developers and a 39.33% reduction in total commit contributions. These numbers show that Ethereum is facing challenges in maintaining developer interest, even with its large user base and established ecosystem. These trends highlight a key difference between the two ecosystems. Cardano maintains strong core development but may struggle to keep developers engaged in its broader ecosystem. Despite its massive ecosystem, Ethereum also faces a slowdown in developer contributions. Several factors affect developer activity in blockchain networks. One is how decisions are made within the projects. For Ethereum, internal conflicts over upgrades and direction have caused delays and frustration among developers. Cardano's slow, research-focused approach can also discourage developers who want to build and launch projects quickly. Another major factor is competition from newer blockchains. These networks offer faster transactions and lower fees, making them more attractive to developers who want to work on cutting-edge technology. As developers migrate between blockchains, Ethereum and Cardano may struggle to keep their core developer communities active. Stephen Flanders argues that the exodus of blockchain developers is a natural consequence of speculative excesses in the crypto sector. He highlights that many developers were drawn to blockchain during the 2021-2022 bull market, but interest waned as speculative projects underperformed and funding shifted to other sectors, particularly AI. Other analysts maintain a more optimistic outlook. Developer Binji Pande attributes developer decline to an overemphasis on hype-driven projects rather than meaningful, value-adding solutions, making it less rewarding for developers to contribute. To reverse this trend, he suggests focusing on building real-world applications that solve user problems, which could attract more developers and ensure long-term growth. ADA is trading around $0.81, reflecting a 50% decline from its December 2024 peak. Despite the decline, predictions for 2025 vary. Some expect ADA to trade between $0.66 and $1.88, while bullish scenarios target up to $2.36. These forecasts hinge on variable factors like increased adoption and positive market sentiment. Cardano's future growth depends on its ability to fully deploy its smart contract ecosystem and attract users for its decentralized applications. The blockchain's unique approach to development is seen as a potential advantage, but competition from other platforms remains intense. While optimism exists for Cardano's long-term potential, the price will ultimately be driven by unpredictable factors like market conditions and overall demand. Bottom Line Cardano now leads in core developer activity, making it the most actively developed blockchain. This could be a positive sign for its cryptocurrency, ADA. However, Cardano is struggling with a drop in overall developer engagement, which may impact its future growth. Ethereum, the second most active blockchain, also saw a decline in developer activity despite its massive ecosystem. Both Cardano and Ethereum need to keep developers interested to stay competitive. Developer activity is crucial for cryptocurrencies because it reflects the ongoing improvement, security and innovation of a blockchain network. Active developers ensure the platform remains functional, secure and competitive. Increased development activity can lead to a price surge by boosting investor confidence and attracting users to a blockchain network. However, it does not guarantee higher prices, as other factors play a role. Although Cardano surpassed Ethereum in core developer activity, Ethereum maintains a larger ecosystem with more active projects and developers, maintaining its dominance.
