Cardano (ADA) Plunges 92% from All-Time High… "Possibility of $0 by 2030"

▲ Cardano (ADA)/AI Generated Image ©

Cardano (ADA) has plummeted over 90% from its all-time high in 2021, and a pessimistic outlook has emerged, suggesting further decline over the next three years due to the sluggishness of decentralized finance (DeFi) and the absence of a spot ETF.

According to the investment media outlet The Motley Fool on September 24 (local time), Cardano has fallen 27% since 2026, showing a weaker performance than other major cryptocurrencies. During the same period, Dogecoin (DOGE) fell 20%, Solana (SOL) 5%, Ethereum (ETH) 8%, and Avalanche (AVAX) 9%. ADA is currently trading at around $0.24, with a market capitalization of approximately $8.9 billion, a significant decrease from $66 billion when it was the world's 4th largest cryptocurrency five years ago.

Cardano's failure to secure new growth drivers was also pointed out as a problem. Although it entered the DeFi market by introducing smart contract functionality in 2021, five years later, it ranks 37th among all blockchains by Total Value Locked (TVL). It is evaluated that Cardano has not secured a distinct position in the DeFi ecosystem compared to major Layer 1 blockchains like Ethereum, Solana, and Avalanche.

Recently, artificial intelligence (AI) has been discussed as a new growth driver. The idea is to use Cardano as a blockchain payment network for AI agents, allowing bots to generate large-scale transaction activities instead of humans. However, the media pointed out that Ethereum and Solana are making faster progress in this area, and competition is fierce with the emergence of AI-specialized blockchains like BitTensor (TAO).

The absence of a Cardano spot ETF was also cited as a weakness. The media evaluated that while spot ETFs exist for Ethereum and Solana, Cardano lacks such products, making it difficult to attract capital from individual and institutional investors. ADA has already fallen 92% from its all-time high in 2021. Charles Hoskinson, the founder of Cardano, also warned in June that a "wave of failures" could appear across the entire Cardano blockchain ecosystem.

The Motley Fool raised the possibility that Cardano's value could approach $0 by 2030 if it fails to secure new growth drivers. It stated its position to avoid Cardano until it gains significant momentum in the DeFi sector, predicting that Cardano, which was the world's 4th largest five years ago, could fall out of the top 25 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization by 2030.

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