Will Cardano reach US$100?

Summary

• Cryptocurrency, Cardano, has recovered slightly from the recent crypto correction with a current price of US$1.31 and a market cap of US$42.23 billion.
• Cardano is a platform that uses its cryptocurrency, Ada, and works much in the same way as Ether does to the network Ethereum.
• Cardano’s biggest improvement is its proof-of-stake consensus as opposed to proof-of-work.
• There are concerns that Ethereum 2.0 will render Cardano obsolete, given Cardano has no smart contracts – a vital factor in the functionality of a blockchain system.

While many are waiting for Ethereum’s 2.0 update, a smaller platform has taken the best aspects of Ethereum and tried to improve upon them, utilising a wealth of peer-reviewed research.

Cardano has recovered slightly from the recent cryptocurrency correction with a current price of US$1.31 and a market cap of US$42.23 billion.

Source: © Shahurin | Megapixl.com

While this is good news for Cardano, some investors are concerned that this will be the last significant surge for a while. If the price of the world’s largest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, falls below US$30,000, it could prompt a massive sell-off across the market, putting downward pressure on Cardano’s price.

Experts say that if Cardano’s price falls below one dollar, it could prompt a massive sell-off of Cardano as the target would then be moved to US$0.80 or below.

What is Cardano?

Cardano is a proof-of-stake blockchain platform. The cryptocurrency it uses is called Ada, and it works much in the same way as Ether does to the network Ethereum – a good analogy being: If Cardano is the car, Ada is the fuel.

What makes Cardano stand out from other platforms is that it’s the first heavily researched and peer-reviewed platform.

Cardano was launched in 2017, having started development just two years prior. It was launched by the co-founder of the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency, Ethereum’s Charles Hoskinson.

Source: © Shahurin | Megapixl.com

Why the hype around Cardano?

Cardano is currently the world’s seventh-largest cryptocurrency, with a lot of bullish sentiment surrounding it. It is known as a third-generation cryptocurrency and therefore has faster transaction times and more overall functionality, as it was developed to improve upon past generations of cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).

As a result, among Cardano’s biggest improvements is its proof-of-stake consensus instead of proof-of-work.

What this means is, unlike Bitcoin, for example, which requires miners to use processing power to solve complex algorithms (proof-of-work), Cardano requires miners to simply own a stake in the network.

As cryptocurrencies move towards greener methods of mining their coins, so too will there be a conscious move away from proof-of-work mining, making Cardano a more attractive option for investors.

Another innovation Cardano uses to make it more attractive is that it’s built with the ability to upgrade it and develop it further in the future. As such, Cardano has anywhere from 100 to 150 developers working on it, making it one of the most actively developed networks currently.

Cardano vs Ethereum

Ethereum is the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency and is currently priced just below US$2000. While people wait for Ethereum’s 2.0 overhaul, many view Cardano as the solution to Ethereum’s problems, as Ethereum 2.0 moves towards a proof-of-stake consensus.

However, there are concerns that Ethereum 2.0 will render Cardano obsolete due to the fact Cardano has no smart contracts – an important factor in the functionality of a blockchain system. Ethereum, on the other hand, has more than US$30 billion in cryptocurrency tied to smart contracts.

Why Cardano won’t hit US$100 any time soon

Although Cardano is a quickly developing platform, its development team is tiny when compared to Ethereum’s.

In fact, Cardano’s most contemporary competitor, Polkadot, has a much larger team working on it and is experiencing more rapid growth than Cardano.

Although Cardano is a great platform and is the first peer-researched platform, unless it somehow becomes the new coin that revolutionises the way people view and use money, it’s unlikely that it will reach US$100 any time soon.

ALSO READ: What Is Cardano (ADA) Crypto? What Is Its Price Prediction?