Cardano (CCC:ADA-USD) has regained some positive momentum. Last summer, the price of ADA-USD soared above $3 at one point and it appeared Cardano was ready for its big move into the mainstream. However, that quickly fizzled. The price of ADA-USD slipped to $2 in November and took out the $1 mark in February, touching as low as 80 cents in March. Over the past month, however, Cardano has surged 50%, regaining the $1.00 level and hitting $1.20 as of this writing. Some of the comeback is due to a broader rally in the cryptocurrency market. However, there are some specifics bolstering the case for Cardano, as well.
One major piece of the interest is distribution across the Cardano ownership base. According to on-chain analysis from Santiment, there is a major shift in who owns Cardano. Accounts holding between 100 ADA-USD and 10,000 ADA-USD tokens ($120 to $12,000) reached a new all-time high in recent days. These such accounts now hold nearly 17% of all outstanding Cardano tokens. On the other hand, whales have trimmed their exposure. The number of accounts holding more than 10,000 Cardano tokens ($12,000+) fell to new lows, though they still represent that vast majority of Cardano’s ownership. Meanwhile, accounts holding fewer than 100 Cardano tokens ($120 or less) own less than 1% of the total outstanding tokens in circulation.
This move toward a broader ownership base could be coming thanks to the increase in activity in Cardano’s smart contracts. Activities such as staking have started to gain popularity on the Cardano blockchain. Metrics such as total value locked (TVL) in staking contracts has been increasing, as well. This is a net positive for the Cardano community. For the health of the ecosystem, it is better to have lots of Cardano tokens circulating among many holders rather than having a few whales own nearly all of it.
Another part of the excitement comes from the Cardano Foundation. Cardano’s founder, Charles Hoskinson, has made a point of trying to do good in the world while building a better alternative to Ethereum (CCC:ETH-USD). To that end, the Cardano Foundation recently announced a three-year partnership with the University of Zurich. That university has been one of the world leaders in researching the blockchain. This partnership will allow much closer integration between Zurich’s researchers and Cardano’s rapidly-growing network of decentralized finance, or “DeFi,” applications. Cardano still has a lot to prove, but several metrics are now pointing in the upward direction.
On the date of publication, Ian Bezek 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.
