Cardano’s (CCC:ADA-USD) growth through 2021 has been huge. This growth is not just by the amount of wallets holding the coin; rather, the network has seen its utility skyrocket, especially over a busy last five months. It is not slowing down at all, either. This week, the network is announcing plans for yet another upgrade in order to help smooth out transactions on the network. And as this news comes to light, Cardano price predictions are turning into a topic of interest.
The last upgrade to the Cardano network — the Alonzo Purple upgrade — saw massive changes to Cardano as users knew it. Most notably, it brought about smart contracts. Dapp development on the chain was revolutionized, and the doors are now unlocked for activities like non-fungible token (NFT) minting and trading. The upgrade was a huge moment for performance, sure, but it also brought lots of exposure to the ADA coin, helping it double in value at the end of August.
Moreover, the network is inking collaborative deals left and right. A partnership with Dish Network (NASDAQ:DISH) will integrate the network for mainstream business. A Chainlink (CCC:LINK-USD) deal is helping dapp developers by bringing accurate, real-time data to the network.
It’s only logical that a new upgrade stands to continue this period of bullishness for ADA. Back in May, Cardano saw 100 million active wallets on its network. In just six months, that number has already doubled to 200 million. A clear cut next step would be for the network to up scalability in order to better accommodate the wash of new users. The Hydra upgrade will do just that.
Cardano Price Predictions Soar on Hydra Upgrade News
Hydra will be a layer-2 scaling solution for the network and comes at a time when Cardano is increasingly pushing its network toward commercial use. In achieving the goal for optimal scaling, the network will introduce 1,000 Hydra nodes with the upgrade. These nodes are apparently capable of handling 1,000 transactions per second. If this promise holds true, the upgrade will make Cardano one of the highest-scaling networks in the world.
There is no launch date announced yet, but the news is enough to help push ADA values up. A 4% gain this morning is helping to get ADA back over $2 once again. Moreover, the news is bringing enough transaction volume to stave off Solana (CCC:SOL-USD) and keep Cardano the fifth-largest crypto network. Let’s take a look at some Cardano price predictions to see where analysts picture the coin going in the future:
- CoinPriceForecast sees ADA getting a lift up to $2.21 by the end of 2021.
- The Economy Forecast Agency is predicting a loss at the close of this year, eyeing a dip down to $1.61. By November of 2022, the site sees ADA climbing back over $2.
- A much more bullish WalletInvestor is targeting a value of $4.31 for the coin by next November.
- Gov Capital’s 12-month prediction hones in on a price of $3.10 by this time next year.
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.
