【003】One Coin One Talk: Cardano (ADA) - The Stealth and Breakthrough of a Rigorous Academic Public Chain

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In the cryptocurrency world dominated by Bitcoin and Ethereum, Charles Hoskinson, co-founder of Ethereum, is determined to redefine public chains through scientific philosophy.

After experiencing Bitcoin's extreme volatility and Solana's speed frenzy, today we turn to a public chain project known for its rigorous academic style—Cardano (ADA). As a top public chain with consistently leading transaction volume, Cardano stands out in the crypto space with its research-driven methodology and step-by-step development approach.

From internal splits among Ethereum co-founders, to peer-reviewed academic attitudes, and now facing market challenges, Cardano's development path reflects a different technological philosophy and governance concept from the mainstream.

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01 Origins: The Academic Faction Split from Ethereum

The story of Cardano's birth is one of the most dramatic chapters in crypto history. Its founder, Charles Hoskinson, was originally a co-founder and the first CEO of Ethereum. However, early in Ethereum's development, core disagreements over whether the project should become a profit-driven enterprise or a non-profit foundation led Hoskinson to part ways with Vitalik Buterin.

This ideological split not only changed Hoskinson's career trajectory but also directly led to the creation of Cardano.

Drawing lessons from his Ethereum experience, Hoskinson founded IOHK (Input Output Hong Kong) in 2015 and launched the Cardano project. Together with Jeremy Wood—another former Ethereum team member—they envisioned a platform that treats blockchain as a rigorous scientific discipline, not just a technological innovation.

This research-oriented approach makes Cardano unique in the crypto field, with each step of its development validated through peer-reviewed academic papers before being translated into actual code.

Hoskinson has repeatedly emphasized that Cardano's goal is not merely to replicate existing blockchain models but to solve long-standing issues of scalability, interoperability, and sustainability through scientific methods.

02 Technical Positioning: Research-Driven and Layered Architecture

Cardano's core technical philosophy combines scientific philosophy with engineering rigor. Compared to other public chains, Cardano adopts a more systematic approach to solving classic blockchain problems:

· Layered Architecture: Cardano's network is divided into a settlement layer and a computation layer. This separation allows for more flexible network upgrades and independent optimization of different functions.
· Ouroboros Consensus Protocol: As the first peer-reviewed proof-of-stake protocol, Ouroboros ensures security while significantly reducing energy consumption.
· Haskell Programming Language: Cardano uses Haskell, a functional programming language chosen for its mathematical rigor and high reliability.

These technical choices reflect the Cardano team's pursuit of security, stability, and long-term maintainability, even if it means development progress may be slower than competitors.

03 Current Development: Disparity Between Technical Progress and Market Performance

Despite steady progress on the technical roadmap, Cardano recently faces a clear disconnect between on-chain activity and market performance.

From a technical perspective, Cardano is currently in the final stage of the Voltaire era, focusing on enhancing on-chain governance and empowering stakeholders with greater decision-making authority.

Meanwhile, Cardano's expansion efforts are shifting toward Layer-2 partner chains aimed at increasing throughput and enabling developers to customize applications for specific use cases or regulatory frameworks while maintaining connectivity with the main chain.

However, these technical advances have yet to translate into strong on-chain metrics. Data shows that the total market value of stablecoins on the Cardano network remains relatively small compared to ecosystems like Ethereum or Solana.

Its DeFi sector generated only $1.3 million in revenue in October, far below competitors' daily figures.

Even more concerning, the number of active wallet addresses has decreased from 1.1 million a year ago to about 751,000, indicating a slowdown in user engagement. These weak usage indicators suggest that, despite Cardano's technical capacity to host larger-scale applications, it has yet to attract the capital and developer activity needed to drive a major growth cycle.

04 Recent Dynamics: The Battle Between Technical Signals and Market Sentiment

Recently, some notable technical and market signals have emerged for Cardano:

Renowned crypto analyst Ali Martinez pointed out that the TD Sequential indicator has issued a buy signal for ADA—this pattern often coincides with local bottoms or early reversal phases.

This signal aligns with the support zone at $0.52, a price level that has repeatedly served as a rebound point since late 2024.

On the daily chart, ADA's Relative Strength Index (RSI) has rebounded from oversold territory, indicating that sellers may be losing control. Meanwhile, the MACD indicator has stabilized after several weeks of decline, suggesting that buying momentum could be building.

However, ADA still needs to overcome key resistance levels at $0.66 and $0.78 to confirm a sustained upward trend. If these levels are broken, analysts see the possibility of a return to $1—almost a 100% increase from current prices.

05 Future Outlook: AI Micro-Payments and Ecosystem Breakthroughs

Looking ahead, Cardano's development depends on several key factors:

The integration of AI micro-payments via the x402 protocol could become a game-changer. Through x402, Cardano is exploring the fusion of artificial intelligence and blockchain, especially around optimizing micro-payment scenarios.

Improved governance mechanisms may make Cardano more attractive to institutional participants who value predictable and transparent decision-making processes. Additionally, Layer-2 scalability enhancements are expected to pave the way for broader applications by reducing transaction bottlenecks and costs.

However, challenges remain. Cardano must demonstrate that its technological advantages can translate into actual user adoption and ecosystem prosperity, especially amid intensifying market competition.

Furthermore, Bitcoin's price volatility has spillover effects on the overall market, which Cardano must also contend with.

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Like a meticulous scholar, Cardano persists at its own pace amid the noisy crypto world. Its value proposition is not about short-term explosive growth but about building a resilient infrastructure for decentralized applications through scientific methods and systematic architecture.

While many projects chase market trends, Cardano has chosen a longer, potentially more enduring path.