Cardano's ADA Surges 37% as Network Activity Spikes

Cardano has recently gained significant attention as the market shifted in favor of altcoins. This shift warranted a closer examination of the network's performance, revealing several key indicators of growth and activity.

LunarCrush Social Insights indicated a rising social sentiment around Cardano, with levels last seen in December 2024. During that period, the ADA price experienced an aggressive rally, suggesting a similar situation might be unfolding. On-chain activity on the Cardano network also showed signs of increased activity over the past week.

The Cardano network started July on a positive note, with several key performance metrics showing improvement. While DEX volume was not at the levels observed in December 2024, it did register a notable recovery in the last seven days. Specifically, DEX volume surged from $1.46 million on June 5 to $4.95 million by June 11. This increase confirmed a surge in DEX activity, which was further supported by a significant uptick in positive address growth. Active addresses on the network increased from 16,100 to almost 27,000, although this growth was not as elevated as the levels seen in November and December 2024.

Despite the recent improvements, DEX volumes and address growth were still below the peaks observed in December 2024. However, the renewed network activity this week provided confidence that Cardano could benefit from improving market conditions. This positive outlook was further supported by the performance of ADA, which surged to $0.77 on Friday, marking a 37% increase from its weekly low and a 52% bounce from its lowest price point in July. Although ADA still traded at a discount from its December 2024 top and its historic high in September 2021, the recent spike in demand indicated a renewed appeal for the cryptocurrency.

In the derivatives market, ADA also showed signs of strength. Open interest was set to conclude the week above $1 billion, the first time since early March. Derivatives volumes surged above $5 billion on Friday, indicating potential volatility ahead. However, these volumes were still below the March 2025 spike and on par with November 2024 levels. The big question now is whether this latest spike in network activity and ADA price action is a temporary phenomenon or the start of a more robust, longer-term recovery.