Cardano's native token ADA has dropped to $0.41, making it one of the weakest performers in the recent market sell-off, with the price roughly 70% below its late 2023 peak. This decline coincides with a 36% decrease in total value locked (TVL) to around $186 million, highlighting shrinking DeFi liquidity and network activity.
Frustration over Cardano's development pace has intensified, fueled by criticism from Nansen's CEO, who suggested ADA could exit the top 20 cryptocurrencies due to minimal usage. However, founder Charles Hoskinson remains optimistic, predicting a revival with the December launch of the Midnight privacy-focused sidechain. He announced an investment roadmap of up to $100 million and hinted at integrations with assets like Bitcoin and XRP through the upcoming RealFi project, aiming to attract billions in TVL.
Technically, ADA is forming a falling-wedge pattern, signaling a potential relief rally if it breaks above $0.5097 resistance, but failure could push it toward $0.277, the August 2023 low. The Midnight Protocol Summit has drawn significant developer interest, with testnet activity indicating growing engagement, though on-chain metrics have yet to reflect these initiatives.