- Cardano has been sliding relative to its rivals since 2021.
- TRON and TON recently displaced ADA from the top 10.
- Cardano reclaims top 10 status off the back of recent developments.
The previous bull cycle saw Cardano reaching a peak $91 billion market cap, securing its place as the third largest crypto project behind Bitcoin and Ethereum. But over time, as competing projects gained momentum, Cardano gradually slid down the rankings.
Toncoin’s rise in April, fueled by a new incentive model, knocked Cardano from ninth to tenth, and by August, a resurgent TRON bumped it further down to eleventh, leaving ADA holders wondering what went wrong. However, following Donald Trump’s election victory, Cardano has regained its spot in the top 10.
Cardano Retakes 10th Spot
Crypto markets saw a sharp spike on Wednesday after Trump clinched a second term in the White House. While markets have since returned to normal, the excitement has fired Cardano’s return to the top ten, ousting Toncoin into eleventh place.
Sponsored
Cardano has posted a 4.6% gain over the past week at the time of writing, reaching a valuation of $13.2 billion. This uptick was enough to nudge TON out of the tenth spot, as TON’s performance over the same period remained nearly flat, with only a 0.1% gain to give a $12.5 billion valuation.
Meanwhile, TRON experienced a 5.5% decline over the past week, lowering its valuation to $13.9 billion. This downturn brings TRON within striking distance of Cardano, setting the stage for a potential ranking shift soon if current trends hold.
However, catching up to Dogecoin, which holds eighth place with a hefty $14 billion lead over TRON in ninth, presents a steep challenge.
Fundamentals Over Hype
The recent Cardano Summit, which wrapped up on October 24, highlighted several significant developments reinforcing Cardano’s commitment to fundamentals rather than hype.
A standout development was Liechtenstein-based exchange LCX’s plan to expand support for Cardano Native Tokens, signaling its ambition to become the primary centralized exchange (CEX) for Cardano assets.
Another major announcement was the reveal of BitcoinOS’s bridge, which would allow Bitcoin users to trustlessly benefit from Cardano’s smart contract functionality and scalability.
Additionally, the USDM stablecoin recently became the second stablecoin to gain approval under the EU’s MiCA framework, following USDC.
USDM founder Matthew Plomin noted that partnering with Norwegian Block Exchange AS (NBX) was key, as MiCA regulations require a physical presence in the EU. The partnership was a match given the exchange’s understanding of the ecosystem, such as building towards a community-led governance model.
On the Flipside
- Market cap valuations are highly changeable.
- Cardano has a long way to go to match its 2021 bull run performance.
- User engagement with the TON ecosystem is declining.
Why This Matters
Cardano’s resurgence signals renewed investor confidence in the project’s long-term potential and pave the way for a larger comeback in the crypto market.
Charles Hoskinson is done with toxic social media attacks.
Troll Attacks Drive Cardano Chief to Consider Social Detox
Calls for a US Bitcoin reserve grow louder following Trump’s election win.
Will Trump’s Bitcoin Reserve Ignite a Global FOMO Race?
