Crypto : Cardano mocked after the collapse of its ADA token

Cardano returns to the center of criticism. This time, the reproach is direct. The network is accused of having accumulated promises without managing to impose strong usage in DeFi or in mainstream applications. Behind the shocking phrase, the question is simple: Does Cardano still matter in crypto due to its real utility, or mainly because of its history and community?

An attack that hits Cardano’s real weak point

The charge is brutal, but it relies on a difficult-to-ignore observation: Cardano’s DeFi remains tiny compared to its rivals. At the time of writing, Cardano’s TVL hovers around 136 million dollars on DeFiLlama. Ethereum exceeds 55 billion dollars, Solana is above 6.5 billion, and even Sui, much more recent, shows nearly 569 million. The gap is no longer marginal. It becomes structural;

Ali Martinez did not just launch a jab. He pointed back to the crypto issue that has been dogging Cardano for years: its lack of visible economic traction. In crypto, narratives count, but locked capital, volumes, and activity always end up speaking louder. Yet on this ground, Cardano remains behind.

The problem is not that Cardano is empty. The network has a loyal base, recognized staking activity, and a more rigorous technical positioning than many other crypto chains. The problem lies elsewhere. This rigor has not yet produced a network effect comparable to Ethereum’s in DeFi or to Solana’s in fast and speculative uses. When a market becomes competitive, slowness eventually costs dearly.

The criticism therefore seems excessive in form, but less absurd in substance. Saying Cardano is “useless” is a shortcut. Saying it still hasn’t found its dominant adoption engine is more accurate. And this is where the issue becomes serious for crypto in general: a big name can remain visible for a long time without managing to turn its reputation into massive usage.

A historic delay that still sticks to the crypto project

Cardano was launched well before several of its current competitors. However, smart contracts were only activated with the Alonzo update in September 2021. This delay left a boulevard for other ecosystems to attract developers, liquidity, and users before it.

This choice did not come by accident. The Cardano crypto project has always preferred the slow, documented, reviewed, almost academic method. On paper, this approach inspires solidity. In a market as nervous as crypto, it can also give the image of a network always in preparation, never really exploding. The promise of seriousness is not enough when the competition publishes faster, attracts more projects, and captures more volume.

This is probably Cardano’s quiet drama. The project was not lacking ambition. It mostly lacked timing. In crypto, arriving with good ideas after others often means entering a room already full. One can still find a place. But then one must offer something distinctly different. Today, this difference remains blurred for part of the market.

The ADA crypto pays the price of doubt

The ADA crypto reflects this malaise. Its all-time high is 3.09 dollars according to CoinGecko. It now trades around 0.26 dollar, about 91.7% below its record. Even the rebound of the previous cycle was not enough to rewrite the narrative. The asset bounced, yes, but without restoring lasting conviction about the network’s trajectory.

This point is important. In crypto, a price drop does not automatically mean a project is doomed. However, when this drop is accompanied by persistent weakness in TVL, revenues, and volumes, the market starts asking a tougher question: what exactly does this token still value?

Cardano still retains a rare asset: its brand remains known, its core community holds strong, and its name continues to circulate among the large capitalizations. That is not nothing. But in crypto, surviving is not always enough. One must become desirable again. And for that, Cardano will have to show more than just a neatly written promise. It will have to prove it can finally attract usage, capital, and attention at the same time, even when fear lurks and the crypto market tightens.