At just shy of $1.49 per coin as of this writing, Cardano (CCC:ADA-USD) is making a comeback. Or, at the very least, it’s starting to make one.
Beaten down last fall, even as cryptos like Bitcoin (CCC:BTC-USD) and Ethereum (CCC:ETH-USD) soared, and beaten down again, as the market took a “risk off” approach to this asset class.
This “Ethereum killer” at one point this month fell to $1.08, a big drop given that its all-time high of $3.10 was set on Sept. 2, around the time of its Alonzo upgrades.
However, recently it’s been on a tear. The altcoin has seen around a 38% spike in price. All while BTC, ETH, and other major names are traded sideways.
Clearly, it’s not a return to bullishness for crypto that’s driving it back higher. Instead, it’s coin-specific catalysts. As seen in recent headlines aggregated by CoinMarketCap, a spate of positive news is renewing excitement for ADA.
Based on the rationale behind the big move back into this crypto, it’s clear that traders have oversold it in the past few months.
Far from being an “also-ran” in the battle for decentralized finance (DeFi) market share, Cardano’s blockchain remains a formidable contender. Current market pressures may challenge its ability to keep climbing in the near term, yet its long-term potential to rise in price is still strong.
Why Traders are Becoming Bullish Again About Cardano
Market-related factors continue to weigh on the crypto market. The U.S. Federal Reserve’s plans to raise interest rates have put pressure on risky assets. As this carries on, it may be difficult to predict the next move for BTC and ETH, not to mention other top cryptocurrencies.
But in the case of Cardano? Coin-specific factors are outweighing this. It’s not just one bit of big news that’s helped it zoom back from just above $1 per coin, back to around $1.50 per coin.
The launch of two new applications on its blockchain is helping to raise excitement for its coin again. First is the launch of Pavia.io, this blockchain’s first metaverse application. Second, the launch of decentralized exchange (DEX) SundaeSwap on Jan 20.
Along with this, news of this crypto’s blockchain seeing a big run-up in transaction volume. To top it all off, new details about its scaling plans.
With all this positive news, it’s no surprise ADA has experienced a big rally in recent days. Not only that, but it’s also apparent that the market has overreacted in recent months, writing off too quickly its chances of taking on Ethereum, as well as rival high-utility altcoins like Polygon (CCC:MATIC-USD) and Solana (CCC:SOL-USD).
Assuming it continues to announce new projects, and new enhance/upgrade plans? Although it may take time, we may be seeing the start of its recovery.
Where Does ADA Go From Here?
Zooming back to $1.50 per coin, Cardano may be on track to hit $2 again in the near term. However, it may be a while before it makes it fully back to its highwater mark.
Again, due to the market-related issues impacting crypto right now. It’s still far from certain to what level the Fed is going to pivot from dovishness to hawkishness in order to fight inflation.
Three or four rate hikes may be as far as it goes, but we could still wind up seeing more rate increases, with interest rates in total moving back up faster than initially expected.
In turn, this could mean that the shift from “risk-on” to “risk-off” is far from over, meaning more pressure will likely be applied to the crypto market.
I wouldn’t say that to completely stay clear of ADA. In the short-term, we could see it deliver more modest gains, or even see it pull back a bit after its latest big move.
Its potential to appreciate in the long term, though, remains high. Once the Hydra scaling upgrades are complete, and as it continues to see a strong amount of developer activity, Cardano will continue to grow in usage.
The crypto could possibly see Ethereum levels. This points to ADA eventually rising to prices many times that of its current price.
Still a Buy for Investors With the Long Term in Mind
With the crypto market still held down by the prospect of higher interest rates, it’s unclear whether ADA’s move to $2 or even $3 will be as swift as its move back to $1.50, much less happen at all, in the short-term.
That limits the appeal of buying it as a near-term trade.
Yet as recent coin-related developments show, it’s still a contender for the DeFi crown. Consider it still worthwhile to buy Cardano as a long-term wager on both blockchain finance gaining critical mass. This crypto’s blockchain becoming one of the more widely used ones out there.
On the date of publication, Thomas Niel held LONG positions in Bitcoin and Ethereum. He did not hold any of the other securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
Thomas Niel, contributor for InvestorPlace.com, has been writing single-stock analysis for web-based publications since 2016.
