ADA cryptocurrency jumped around 50% in only one week. Following this event, optimist estimates have been vocalized on which technological improvements could include allowing intelligent contracts on Cardano, as it was announced as a goal of mid-September by the blockchain. Thanks to these improvements, the network will be able to offer lucrative services like decentralized finance. The world of DeFi is currently dominated by Ethereum.

The current market value of ADA cryptocurrency is above $69 billion. Its rally has been met with suspicion by some prominent industry names so far, according to the world’s biggest independent cryptocurrency data aggregator, Coin Gecko. It is also because ADA has become the third-biggest virtual token after bitcoin and ethereum. ADA’s total jump of over 1400% in one year also exceeds the returns from both two significant cryptocurrencies.

The co-founder and managing partner of crypto lender Nexo, Antoni Trenchev, stated:

“The Cardano fans have been awaiting — some impatiently — for what seems like an eternity for some news on smart contracts. Cardano is tussling with no. 2 crypto Ethereum to be the preeminent blockchain offering smart contracts.”

Despite suspicions raised by prominent cryptocurrency analysts about its utility, the virtual asset has climbed. For example, the chief executive officer of Galaxy Digital LP Mike Novogratz, in one of his last tweets, commented as such:

“I spoke to twenty of the smartest people I know in the space, and zero of them saw Cardano having traction.”

Antoni Trenchev also said that “most people outside crypto have never even heard of Cardano — yet here it is with a market cap” that is bigger than many S&P 500 index constituents.

The decentralized finance system (abbreviated as DeFi) equips digital ledgers with certain financial functions that allow people to perform actions like borrowing and lending funds and earning interest in a savings-like account. Throughout these actions, one does not need traditional intermediaries (banks). The increasing popularity of the DeFi system is partly related to the broader trend of growing blockchain usage.

The cryptocurrency market is famous for its volatility and it was interpreted as succumbing to a rout in the last months. However, recent rallies in the most significant three coins (bitcoin, ethereum, and ADA), as well as several other tokens, helped the market climb over $2 trillion in market value. This has been experienced for the first time since May 2021.