Prominent cryptocurrency analyst Dan Gambardello has recently made a bold prediction, anticipating a remarkable surge in the price of the smart contract platform Cardano ($ADA) as it enters the next bull market. Gambardello cites the rapid growth of Cardano’s decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem as the driving force behind this anticipated explosion.
Sharing his insights with his substantial following of over 240,000 on the microblogging platform X, Gambardello compared Cardano to Ethereum ($ETH), the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. He noted that before Ethereum’s market cap skyrocketed to over $100 billion during the previous bull market, its DeFi ecosystem had around $400 million in total value locked. In contrast, Cardano currently boasts nearly $180 million in total value locked, signaling its potential for explosive growth in the upcoming bull run. As of the time of writing, Cardano’s market capitalization stands at approximately $10.9 billion.
Despite recent fluctuations that caused Cardano to lose its position as the seventh-largest cryptocurrency to Dogecoin ($DOGE), its DeFi sector continues to expand. A prominent Cardano influencer, known as ADA Whale, pointed out that the network now hosts over 20 decentralized applications, with more in development. This substantial progress has not yet been fully reflected in the project’s valuation, hinting at the untapped potential.
It is worth noting that Cardano faced scrutiny earlier this year when it was mentioned as security in lawsuits filed by the US SEC against major cryptocurrency exchanges Binance and Coinbase, leading to a few delistings. However, despite these challenges, Cardano received praise in CCData’s ESG Benchmark report, which evaluates cryptocurrencies based on their Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) scores.
The report highlighted that ESG mandates are gaining traction among institutional investors, with global ESG-related assets under management projected to reach $33.9 trillion by 2026. Ethereum received the highest AA grade in the ESG Benchmark, followed by Solana, Cardano, Binance Coin ($BNB), Aptos ($APT), Polkadot ($DOT), $DAI, $XRP, and Tezos’ $XTZ, all achieving an A rating.
As the cryptocurrency landscape continues to evolve, Cardano’s growth in the DeFi space and its recognition in ESG evaluations reinforce its potential to gain prominence in the market. With increasing interest from both retail and institutional investors, the path ahead seems promising for Cardano as it seeks to leverage its expanding ecosystem to soar to new heights in the next bull market.
