Kaspa's Upgrades Boost Network Speed 1000% While Cardano's Usage Lags

Kaspa, a rapidly growing blockchain project, is making significant strides in building a unique ecosystem with technology that has the potential to transform the entire crypto space. Recent updates demonstrate the team's commitment to growth, including the Crescendo v1.0.0 hard fork, which increased the network's speed to 10 blocks per second and rewrote the codebase in Rust for better performance. The DAGKNIGHT consensus upgrade enhanced transaction speed and security, while the Zealous Swap testnet introduced new trading features with market-making and NFT-inspired fees. Additionally, developers received a new Python SDK, making it easier to build applications on Kaspa. Other efforts include work on pruning to reduce storage, the launch of the Kasrate mining pool, and preparations for the Caravel testnet, which will bring EVM compatibility. Kaspa also introduced the KRC20 token standard, supporting smart contracts and decentralized finance. These upgrades have garnered increased attention for Kaspa.

Cardano, or ADA, has been a top cryptocurrency for years, often ranking in the top ten by market cap. However, a closer look reveals disappointing performance and usage. Many had hoped Cardano would lead the next wave of blockchain growth, but recent developments suggest otherwise. Cardano's network usage is relatively low, with an average of 70,000 transactions per day compared to Ethereum's over a million and Tron's nearly 9 million. Cardano's daily active addresses are around 40,000, while Ethereum and Solana have hundreds of thousands. In decentralized finance, Cardano has about $250 million locked in its protocols, compared to Ethereum's over $60 billion and Arbitrum's $2.4 billion. This indicates that developers and users are not finding enough value in Cardano. The ADA price has also been weak, dropping from around $1.30 in late 2024 to about $0.55, over 80% below its all-time high. Other cryptocurrencies like XRP, SUI, and SEI have shown stronger growth and interest. The competition in the crypto space has intensified, with newer projects like Solana, Sui, Sei, and Aptos gaining traction. These newer chains offer faster, cheaper, and more attractive options for developers, further challenging Cardano's position.

Given these factors, it is plausible that Kaspa could become a top 10 cryptocurrency and surpass Cardano's market cap. Kaspa's technical improvements, growing developer support, and focus on performance provide a significant advantage. In contrast, Cardano's slow progress and weak adoption make it likely to lose ground. As Kaspa continues to attract developers, miners, and users with its fast network and upcoming EVM compatibility, its ecosystem could grow rapidly. This could lead to substantial increases in KAS price and market cap, potentially helping Kaspa surpass older projects like Cardano.

If Kaspa were to reach Cardano's current market cap of about $20 billion, the KAS price would be approximately $0.75. This calculation is based on Kaspa's current circulating supply of about 26.3 billion KAS and its current trading price of around $0.075. If Kaspa's market cap grew to match Cardano's $20 billion, the KAS price would increase by a factor of 10, assuming the number of coins in circulation remains the same. This would result in a price of $0.75 per KAS, representing almost 900% returns from today's price for early investors. Kaspa's recent progress and developer activity make this level of growth possible in the coming years.