With altcoin season now becoming less of a season and more of a year-round celebration, the race to win over market share is becoming more competitive and yielding more impressive products. Developers are revolutionizing digital currencies at breakneck speeds; as one network adopts a technology that investors flock to, the others must race to build their own iteration of it while creating other innovative technologies of their own. With news coming out of the Cardano (CCC:ADA-USD) camp, it seems that the network will be getting on board with smart contract tech, allowing it to compete with huge players like Ethereum (CCC:ETH-USD). The news is creating a record high for Cardano’s ADA coin’s price, and investors want to see some Cardano price predictions.
Cardano has been implementing a series of upgrades to its network through the summer, each with the “Alonzo” name. The newest, Alonzo Purple, will be the most sweeping update of them all, allowing Cardano users to utilize smart contracts. The testnet for the network is currently live, and as of last night, users are able to utilize test smart contracts on-chain. The main launch is slated for a Sept. 12 arrival.
The implications for smart contracts are huge. They will allow the network the automatically verify transactions when they meet specified criteria, allowing faster transactions. As such, it will also lead to increased scaling, making the amount of contracts the chain can process at one time much higher.
Cardano Price Predictions Soar as it Attempts to Steal NFT Market Share
Another facet of the smart contract update is that the contracts allow for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on the Cardano network for the first time. NFTs have seen a resurgence in the last few weeks since their late 2020 boom, with buyers shelling out hundreds of thousands of dollars on the art.
Currently, Ethereum holds a vast majority of the total NFT market on its network. Meanwhile, the power consumption required to run this multi-million dollar market is almost nothing; it only accounts for around 1% of the total Ethereum network.
Cardano is the third-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, trailing only Ethereum and Bitcoin (CCC:BTC-USD). With its dedicated user base, the network can really put a dent into Ethereum’s dominance over such a hugely popular industry.
ADA Sees New Highs: Can It Continue Upward?
It’s no wonder then that investors are pushing the ADA coin to new heights. This morning, it surged past the $3 milestone for the first time, reaching a high of $3.10 before cooling down to $3.03.
Can ADA continue this impressive upward tear, especially as the mainnet upgrade approaches on Sept. 12? Let’s take a look at some Cardano price predictions and see what analysts think:
- Wallet Investor predicts that ADA will continue well past the $4 mark over the next 12 months. The outlet forecasts a September 2022 price of $4.80 for ADA.
- CoinPriceForecast thinks Cardano will grow much faster than that. By the end of 2021, just four months from now, the outlets thinks ADA can surpass $5.
- Gov Capital’s 12-month prediction is much more slow-growing than these predictions. By September of 2022, the site says ADA will be just $3.74, gaining only 71 cents over the next year.
- The Economy Forecast Agency has some of the most bullish predictions of the whole crowd; by year’s end, the site predicts ADA will be worth $5.69. By September of 2022, it forecasts a high of $9.78.
On the date of publication, Brenden Rearick did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
