Cardano's ADA Token Plummets 85% Since 2021 Peak

Cardano, once hailed as the "Ethereum killer," has seen a dramatic shift in its trajectory, evolving from a promising blockchain project to a seemingly stagnant presence in the cryptocurrency landscape. Launched in 2017, Cardano was positioned as a rigorously academic and scientifically sound blockchain, led by Charles Hoskinson, one of Ethereum's co-founders. The project aimed to outperform Ethereum with its peer-reviewed approach and meticulous development process. However, the execution of Cardano's ambitious plans has been notably slow.

One of the most significant delays was the implementation of smart contracts, which did not go live until 2021—four years after Ethereum had already established itself as the go-to platform for decentralized finance (DeFi) and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). By the time Cardano introduced its smart contract platform, newer blockchain networks like Solana and Avalanche had already made substantial progress in ecosystem growth. This delay allowed competitors to capture market share and developer interest, leaving Cardano behind.

Cardano's choice to use a custom smart contract language called Plutus, based on the niche programming language Haskell, further exacerbated the issue. The language's complexity and lack of developer interest resulted in a dearth of applications built on the Cardano platform. Despite achieving a $30 billion valuation, Cardano struggled to attract developers and build a robust ecosystem. The lack of real-world usage and active developers has left Cardano with a $250 million total value locked (TVL) in mid-2025, a stark contrast to Ethereum's $60 billion TVL. Daily active users on Cardano are around 1,000, and the NFT volume is virtually non-existent. Initial hype around collections like Clay Nation and SpaceBudz failed to translate into sustained momentum, and no major marketplaces emerged to support creators.

Charles Hoskinson, the public face of Cardano, has also faced scrutiny. His polarizing public image, marked by online arguments and lofty promises that did not materialize, has contributed to the project's struggles. Additionally, his academic background, once a key selling point for Cardano, has come under question. Despite numerous partnerships announced with entities like Ethiopia’s Ministry of Education and New Balance, there has been a lack of follow-through and real updates, further diminishing Cardano's credibility.

Price-wise, Cardano's ADA token has also underperformed. The token hit a high of $3.10 during the 2021 bull run but has since plummeted to around $0.50, representing an 85% decline. Even as Bitcoin reached new all-time highs in 2025, ADA remained stagnant, failing to capitalize on the broader market's momentum. The team's focus on theoretical scaling and transaction processing speed (TPS) through updates like "Hydra" has not translated into practical use cases or community engagement. The Hydra update, promised to scale Cardano to a million transactions per second, has only been demonstrated in a basic game demo since 2020.

Hoskinson's latest strategy, involving the sale of ADA to buy Bitcoin and then repurchasing ADA, has been met with skepticism, appearing more like a meme than a viable plan. After eight years and numerous academic papers, Cardano is still awaiting its breakthrough moment. The project serves as a reminder that academic rigor and whitepapers do not guarantee adoption or community building. Real-world usage, active developers, and effective execution are the critical factors that drive success in the cryptocurrency space. Despite its ambitious goals, Cardano has fallen short in these areas, leaving it in a state of stagnation.