Editor’s Note: This article was updated on Feb. 25. 2021, to correct a recent high price.
It really wasn’t very long ago that the Cardano (CCC:ADA-USD) bulls struggled to maintain a dime, not to mention a dollar per coin. Today, the picture is drastically different as Cardano is quickly becoming a crypto-market darling.
Could Italian physician and mathematician Girolamo Cardano possibly have known that a currency – and along with it, a grassroots movement – would bear his name someday?
Of course not, but it’s fun to consider the connection between the revolutionary ideas of the past and the present.
And today, Cardano’s potential as a next-generation disruptor of predecessors like Bitcoin (CCC:BTC-USD) and Ethereum (CCC:ETH-USD) is top-of-mind for modern-world traders. So, let’s begin with an analysis of ADA’s wild price action.
A Closer Look at the Cardano Price
Among commodities traders, silver is sometimes called “the devil’s metal” due to its high level of volatility. Could Cardano, then, be “the devil’s cryptocurrency”?
Cardano demonstrated its moonshot potential back in late 2017 and early 2018, when it rocketed up from 2 cents to $1. Unfortunately, before the end of 2018, ADA plunged to around 3 cents.
Throughout most of the next couple of years, the bulls couldn’t seem to keep Cardano above 10 cents. And within the past year, Cardano slipped to a low point of approximately 2 cents.
Loyal coin holders were rewarded eventually, though, as Cardano commenced a breathtaking run-up in late 2020. By the end of the year, the bulls managed to push the ADA price up to 18 cents.
Yet, that wasn’t the end of the story. If you can believe it, the bulls bid the Cardano price back up to a 52-week high of almost $1.20. Now $2 is now a realistic price target for Cardano.
Mingling With the Natives
Cardano remains quite unique among popular cryptocurrencies. Sure, it’s cheaper on a per-coin basis than Bitcoin and Ethereum, but that not the only difference.
Besides being decentralized (which could be said about many cryptocurrencies), the Cardano network is known as a multi-asset smart contract platform.
By “multi-asset,” I mean that multiple types of cryptocurrencies can be traded on the Cardano blockchain network. Plus, the Cardano network’s use of smart contracts “means that it can keep track of transactions like bitcoin while handling payments like Ethereum,” to quote InvestorPlace contributor
And now, with the recent Goguen update, users will be able to create user-defined tokens. These will be “native” custom tokens, meaning that they can be transacted directly on the blockchain.
Only time will tell, but the rollout of potentially limitless varieties of native tokens should, I believe, enhance the value of the network.
Sealed with a Kiss
I’m generally not one to recommend buying an asset because a celebrity likes it.
Still, I just couldn’t resist relaying a news item involving Gene Simmons, the rock-star bass player of the band Kiss.
Reportedly, Simmons has purchased $300,000 worth of Cardano. Simmons also evidently has holdings in Bitcoin, Ethereum and other digital currencies.
At around the time the report of Simmons’ big ADA purchase was released, Cardano was the sixth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, valued at nearly $29 billion.
I’m not expecting many people to buy ADA just because Simmons owns it. Rather, I believe that ADA has (pardon the pun) rock-star potential as an affordable and adaptable digital asset and network.
Some folks have even proposed that Cardano could be an “Ethereum killer.” I wouldn’t advise pitting crypto against crypto, however.
There’s more than enough room for multiple successful digital currencies, and ADA is sufficiently unique to carve out its own niche.
The Bottom Line
Rock-star endorsements aside, Cardano is known to be a fast mover. And lately, the bulls have been in full control of ADA’s price action.
Therefore, even after achieving all-time-high price points, there’s still room for much more upside.
On the date of publication, David Moadel did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.
