💤✨ CARDANO: A PROMISING BLOCKCHAIN, LACKING APPLICATIONS, AND NOW DROPPED OUT OF THE TOP 10

It used to shine. Cardano, the smart kid from the crypto world. Founded by Charles Hoskinson—who can talk for as long as a two-credit lecture—Cardano was once serious talk among crypto investors. Not because of its price performance that makes you suddenly rich, but because of its approach that is said to be "scientific-based, peer-reviewed verified, and very philosophical."

And that's true. Almost all technical decisions in Cardano are made after in-depth research. Its consensus protocol, Ouroboros, is the result of scientific studies and academic journals. The problem? The crypto world moves on Elon Musk's watch, not thesis defense schedules.

While other projects are launching DApps, NFTs, stablecoins, and DEXs in a marathon, Cardano is busy... releasing a new whitepaper. Its smart contracts were only truly usable in 2021, which took years since the project started in 2015. At that time, Ethereum already had DeFi worth billions of dollars, and Solana had even crashed several times due to... being used too much.

And now, after a long time sitting at the top, Cardano has slipped out of the top 10 cryptocurrencies in the world. Its latest position? Number 11, pushed down by TRON, the blockchain that was once often mocked for being too hyped and too "fast." Ironic, isn't it? The blockchain that is said to be too fast has surpassed the blockchain that is said to be too meticulous.

TVL (Total Value Locked) on the Cardano network? Very small. In fact, it is much smaller compared to projects that are half its age. Its on-chain activity? Below 30 thousand active addresses per day. Compare that with Ethereum, TRON, or even TON which is currently gaining popularity. DEX on Cardano? Yes, but its volume is more akin to a roadside coffee shop than a big mall like Uniswap or PancakeSwap.

But of course, the Cardano community remains resilient. They say: "It's not about the price, but about the foundation." Some also say: "Cardano is building for the long term. This is a marathon, not a sprint." A classic phrase that is always used whenever the price of ADA drops but there hasn't been any significant change in its ecosystem.

Charles is still active. But he appears more often in long vlogs, sitting in the garden or wearing a cowboy hat, explaining blockchain philosophy and why the world is not ready to accept the sophistication of Cardano. Meanwhile, projects like Solana continue to build, Avalanche aggressively enters the gaming sector, and Ethereum is running with layer-2 solutions like Optimism and Arbitrum.

Cardano is indeed not a fraud, not a scam, not an empty project. But it is a project that is overly confident that the world will adjust to its rhythm, not the other way around. It is like a smart professor who believes the world will come to him one day, while his class is getting increasingly empty.

Maybe someday, Cardano will truly become an advanced and mature platform. But until that day comes, those who have held ADA since 2018 can only smile bitterly while saying: "We believe… someday."
And as usual, someday is the most frequently postponed day in the crypto world.