Cardano, once considered one of the largest cryptocurrencies in the market, has been facing significant challenges in recent months. This is evident from the substantial drop in its market cap, plummeting from over $90 billion in 2021 to a mere $15.9 billion as of Wednesday. The number of monthly developer commits has also dwindled, showcasing a lack of interest among developers in the Cardano ecosystem. Furthermore, the amount of money locked in Cardano’s DeFi applications has seen a sharp decline, indicating a loss of investor trust and participation in the platform.
In comparison to other popular blockchains like Solana, BNB Chain, and Ethereum, Cardano lacks major meme coins or decentralized exchanges (DEX). Minswap, currently Cardano’s biggest DEX, has only managed to handle transactions worth less than $1 million in the past 24 hours, while its counterparts on other blockchains process significantly higher volumes. Moreover, Cardano’s presence in the NFT market is minimal, with sales worth a mere $1.6 million in the last 30 days. This lack of significant activity in the meme coin, DEX, and NFT spaces positions Cardano at a disadvantage when compared to other leading blockchains.
Traders’ sentiment towards Cardano has been on a decline, fueled by concerns over the coin’s underperformance and lack of developer activity. The daily volume of Cardano has remained stagnant below $500 million since July 5th, indicating a lack of excitement and trading interest among market participants. In contrast, smaller meme coins such as Pepe and Dogwifhat are experiencing significantly higher daily trading volumes, further highlighting Cardano’s diminishing appeal in the market.
From a technical standpoint, Cardano remains below the 200-day moving average, signaling a potential bearish trend in the short term. The coin’s staking yield is also disappointingly low, standing at less than 3% according to data from StakingRewards. While there are hopes of a potential price rally due to expectations of a Federal Reserve rate cut reflected in the crypto fear and greed index, Cardano’s current fundamental and technical weaknesses suggest that any recovery may be short-lived. Ultimately, the performance of ADA price will heavily depend on Bitcoin’s movement and its ability to sustain its rally in the market.