Cardano, a proof-of-stake blockchain network, has shown impressive growth in Q1 2023, according to a Messari report.
The report highlights several key developments, including a 54% increase in ADA price, a 172% increase in DeFi TVL, and new innovations in stablecoins, scaling, and interoperability.
Cardano is a smart contract platform that focuses on security, scalability, and sustainability for decentralized applications and systems. The network is supported by Input Output Global (IOG), The Cardano Foundation, and EMURGO. Cardano’s phased development roadmap and methodical approach prioritize stability and sustainability over speed.
According to the Messari report, Cardano’s native token, ADA, rose from $0.29 at the end of 2022 to $0.44 at the end of Q1 2023, moving Cardano from the ninth to the seventh largest cryptocurrency by market cap.
The platform’s treasury balance also grew by 100 million ADA to 1.21 billion, with a 9.1% and 66% QoQ growth in ADA and USD terms, respectively.
Cardano’s DeFi TVL grew 172% quarterly from $50.8 million in Q4 2022 to $138.3 million in Q1 2023.
The network’s stablecoin volume increased 261% from $2.8 million in Q4 to $10 million at the end of Q1, led by Indigo’s IUSD and Djed’s DJED.
Due to interest in new protocols, big DEXs including Minswap, SundaeSwap, and WingRiders lost dominance.
Cardano Growth Activity in Q1 2023
- The introduction of the first Hydra Head, a Layer-2 state channel scaling solution that enables fast and cheap transactions on the mainnet2.
- Ethereum developers may easily implement smart contracts on Cardano with Milkomeda C1, IOG’s EVM proof-of-concept sidechain.
- The integration of Wanchain, a cross-chain infrastructure that enables interoperability between Cardano and other blockchains such as Bitcoin and Ethereum.
- The deployment of Midnight, a privacy-preserving protocol that leverages zero-knowledge proofs to enable confidential transactions on Cardano2.
Despite the overall growth, Cardano experienced declines in new addresses (up 71.5%) and average daily transactions (up 10.6%) in Q1. Daily NFT transactions on the network also fell, down 27%, as daily unique buyers shrunk by 23%. According to the report, Cardano’s smart contracts and NFTs lack user-friendly tools and interfaces.
Cardano expanded its ecosystem and met its roadmap in Q1 2023, according to Messari.
The network still needs to improve user experience, attract more developers and users, and compete with other smart contract platforms.
