Negative momentum in cryptocurrency markets has continued on Thursday and Cardano (ADA) is suffering as a result.
The cryptocurrency which powers the smart-contract-enabled Cardano blockchain and sits at the heart of Cardano’s Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ecosystem, was last down a little over 2.5% on Thursday after dropping over 6% on Wednesday.
ADA/USD was last changing hands close just above $0.40, having found support from an uptrend that began in early March and from the 21-Day Moving Average.
That means the cryptocurrency around 12.5% lower versus the multi-month highs it hit above $0.46 earlier this month.
Despite its sharp drop in the last few days, Cardano still trades north of 65% up on the year, with the world’s seventh largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization having ridden a wave of positive momentum in the broader crypto market since the year began.
Crypto has rallied this year on hopes for end to the Fed’s tightening cycle and the possibility of a near-term cutting, driven by slowing US inflation and weakening economic momentum, combined with concerns about the stability of the traditional financial system after last month’s US bank “crisis” and after crypto had arguably become well over-sold at the end of last year.
But Cardano has likely also derived support from decent growth in its DeFi ecosystem.
According to a report released by crypto analytics firm Messari, the total value locked (TVL) in Cardano blockchain-based smart contracts rose by 170% in Q1 2023 to nearly $140 million.
That was partially down to asset price appreciation, but the TVL growth rate far outstripped ADA’s 54% market cap gain for the quarter.
A big catalyst for the increase was a 261% jump in the total value of stablecoins issued on
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