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January 01, 2018, 12:54:48 AM |
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Cardano (ADA) just became the latest altcoin to go through the stratosphere, defying a broad downtrend in the cryptocurrency market ahead of the new year.
ADA Price Levels
Cardano’s ADA coin touched an all-time high of $0.76 on Saturday, according to CoinMarketCap. Prices would later consolidate at $0.69 for a gain of more than 37%. Nearly $700 million worth of ADA coins were transacted over the past 24 hours, which is equivalent to roughly 53,383 bitcoins. There are currently more than 25.9 billion ADA coins in circulation, with total supplies exceeding 31.1 billion.
Over 90% of the daily transactions occurred on just two exchanges – Bittrex and Binance – with the rest taking place on lesser known platforms, such as Coinnest and Gate.io.
With the gain, Cardano’s market cap has reached $17.7 billion, placing it sixth among active cryptocurrencies and leapfrogging the likes of Litecoin, IOTA and NEM.
That wasn’t the first time ADA reached the top-six; the coin has enjoyed multiple sharp rallies over the past four weeks, including a nearly 120% surge through mid-December. It has returned more than 500% for the month of December, and more than 2,200% since the start of October.
The coin’s latest rally comes amid a broad downward correction in the cryptocurrency market, with the total market capitalization of all coins falling nearly $50 billion from Saturday’s high. At last check, the combined value of the crypto universe was approximately $566 billion. The market peaked at nearly $650 billion earlier this month.
Cardano’s Value Proposition
Cardano has a smaller profile than the more prominent altcoins, but its recent acceleration suggests investors are beginning to notice its unique value proposition. The platform seeks to deliver a more advanced smart contract by prioritizing scientific research and development. As far as the author is aware, it is the only crypto using a proof of stake algorithm validated by the academic community.
Though appearing novel, Cardano has actually been around for a few years. It was created by Charles Hoskinson, a co-founder of the more popular Ethereum blockchain. It’s therefore little surprise that the platform’s proof of stake algorithm – called Ouroboros – is attempting to go above and beyond ether.
According to Jesse Damiani, the ADA coin seeks to offer deeper functionality at a cheaper rate (like Litecoin) while offering the same kind of investment appeal as bitcoin.
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