What is expected in the development of ADA?

Cardano is speeding up its development with community-backed upgrades and new ecosystem features.

1. Ouroboros Leios Upgrade (Q4 2025) – A major update to improve transaction speed and keep the network decentralized.
2. Hydra Mainnet Launch (Late 2025) – A layer-2 solution to make transactions faster and cheaper.
3. Midnight Glacier Airdrop (November 2025) – Distribution of privacy-focused tokens on a new sidechain.
4. Cardano Card Rollout (Q4 2025) – A crypto debit card that works with Apple Pay and Google Pay.

Deep Dive

1. Ouroboros Leios Upgrade (Q4 2025)

Overview:
This upgrade changes how Cardano reaches agreement on transactions, aiming to make them faster and more scalable without losing decentralization. Tests suggest it could handle 2 to 4 times more transactions than now (Input Output).

What this means:

• Positive: Supports more complex apps like decentralized finance (DeFi) and gaming.
• Caution: The upgrade is complex and might take longer than planned.

2. Hydra Mainnet Launch (Late 2025)

Overview:
Hydra is designed to boost Cardano’s transaction capacity dramatically. In controlled tests, it reached over 1 million transactions per second (TPS), with real-world speeds expected around 50,000 TPS. It also cuts microtransaction fees by about 90% (CoinMarketCap).

What this means:

• Positive: Makes Cardano a strong competitor to Ethereum for apps needing fast, frequent transactions.
• Neutral: Success depends on developers moving their projects from test networks to the main network.

3. Midnight Glacier Airdrop (November 2025)

Overview:
Cardano’s new privacy-focused sidechain, Midnight, will distribute $NIGHT tokens. Eligible users include ADA stakers and holders of other cryptocurrencies like Ethereum and Solana (Cardanians.io).

What this means:

• Positive: Could attract users and institutions interested in privacy.
• Caution: Privacy features may face increased regulatory attention.

4. Cardano Card Rollout (Q4 2025)

Overview:
This upcoming debit card lets users spend ADA, Bitcoin, and stablecoins directly, while earning rewards from staking. Partnerships with Visa and Mastercard are in progress (Cardanians.io).

What this means:

• Positive: Connects crypto to over 60 million Brave browser users and traditional finance.
• Neutral: Its success depends on smooth integration with regular payment systems.

Conclusion

Cardano’s plan combines important technical upgrades like Leios and Hydra with new tools to grow its ecosystem, such as Midnight and the Cardano Card. The community’s $71 million treasury commitment shows strong governance, but meeting deadlines will be key. The introduction of Midnight’s cross-chain privacy features could change how Cardano fits into the broader multi-chain world.

What updates are there in the ADA code base?

Cardano’s development is focused on improving scalability, governance, and tools for developers.

1. Core Protocol Funding Approved (August 4, 2025) – $71 million allocated for upgrades over the next year through community governance.
2. Ouroboros Leios Rollout Speeds Up (September 8, 2025) – Fast-tracking a new consensus protocol to boost transaction capacity.
3. Hydra Layer-2 Scaling Progress (July–August 2025) – Enhancements to speed up transactions for decentralized finance (DeFi) and small payments.

Deep Dive

1. Core Protocol Funding Approved (August 4, 2025)

Overview: Cardano’s community voted to allocate $71 million (96 million ADA) from its treasury to support Input Output Global’s development plan through the first on-chain vote (Source).

The 12-month plan focuses on:

• Ouroboros Leios: Upgrading the consensus protocol to handle more transactions without sacrificing decentralization.
• Hydra: A Layer-2 solution designed to enable real-time microtransactions, aiming for over 1 million transactions per second in the long run.
• Project Acropolis: Creating a modular node design to make it easier for developers to contribute.

What this means: This is positive news for ADA holders because community-backed funding supports steady technical improvements while keeping the network decentralized.

2. Ouroboros Leios Rollout Speeds Up (September 8, 2025)

Overview: Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson described Ouroboros Leios as “competitively necessary” and pushed to accelerate its launch to keep up with other blockchain projects (Source).

Leios brings:

• Parallel transaction processing: Allows multiple transactions to be processed at the same time, reducing the time it takes to confirm blocks.
• Better resource management: Helps nodes run more efficiently during busy periods.

What this means: This update is cautiously optimistic for ADA. While delays could cause Cardano to fall behind competitors, a successful rollout could make Cardano a leader in high-speed blockchain networks.

3. Hydra Layer-2 Scaling Progress (July–August 2025)

Overview: The Hydra Layer-2 solution is moving forward on the mainnet, allowing transactions to be processed off the main blockchain. This reduces fees and speeds up transaction times (Source).

Key improvements include:

• Head protocol upgrades: Lower latency for DeFi apps, meaning faster response times.
• Wallet integration: Support for popular hardware wallets like Ledger and Trezor to handle Hydra transactions.

What this means: This is good news for ADA because faster and cheaper transactions can attract more decentralized apps and users, increasing the network’s usefulness.

Conclusion

Cardano’s technology is advancing through community-funded upgrades focused on scalability (Ouroboros Leios, Hydra) and governance improvements. While there are risks in delivering these technical updates, they align with Cardano’s goal of becoming a decentralized, high-performance blockchain. How will Hydra’s adoption affect ADA’s role in DeFi compared to Ethereum and Solana?

Why did the price of ADA go up?

Cardano (ADA) increased by 3.6% in the last 24 hours, continuing its positive trend with gains of 5.7% over the past week and 11.7% over the last month. This growth is driven by optimism around an ETF approval, ongoing technical strength, and important developments within the Cardano ecosystem.

1. ETF Optimism: The chance that the SEC will approve a spot ADA ETF is rising as the October 26 deadline approaches.
2. Ecosystem Milestones: The upcoming launch of the Cardano Card in late 2025 and a recent audit clearing $600 million in misuse allegations.
3. Technical Breakout: ADA is holding above key support levels, showing positive signs from technical indicators.

Deep Dive

1. ETF Speculation (Positive Outlook)

Overview:
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) must decide by October 26, 2025, whether to approve Grayscale’s proposed Cardano ETF (Cardanians). Investors and analysts are increasingly optimistic, following similar approvals for Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs.

What this means:
If approved, the ETF would make it easier for large institutional investors to buy ADA, boosting demand and giving Cardano more legitimacy as a regulated investment. Cardano is seen as a “mature blockchain” under U.S. law, with features like decentralized governance and a fixed supply of 45 billion ADA, which align well with SEC requirements.

What to watch:
Any comments or leaks from the SEC before the deadline could cause price swings.

2. Ecosystem Momentum (Positive Outlook)

Overview:
Cardano’s treasury has approved $71 million in ADA funding for important upgrades, including Hydra scaling (which aims to make transactions faster) and improvements to governance (AdaStat). Additionally, an independent audit has cleared up concerns about $600 million in ADA misuse, restoring trust in the project (Cardanians).

What this means:
This funding will help make the Cardano network more efficient and user-friendly. The audit reassures investors and users about the project’s transparency. Plus, the upcoming Cardano Card—a crypto debit card that will work with Apple Pay and Google Pay—will help bring ADA into everyday spending.

3. Technical Strength (Mixed Signals)

Overview:
ADA is currently trading at $0.89, above its 200-day simple moving average (SMA) of $0.73 and 50-day SMA of $0.83. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is at 54.26, indicating neutral momentum. However, technical analysis shows resistance near $0.92, based on Fibonacci retracement levels.

What this means:
The “golden cross” (when the 50-day SMA crosses above the 200-day SMA) is a bullish sign, suggesting upward momentum. But some indicators like the MACD show potential short-term pauses or consolidation. If ADA can break and hold above $0.92, it could aim for $1.02, a recent high from August.

Conclusion

Cardano’s recent price increase is fueled by hopes for an ETF approval, ongoing upgrades to its network, and solid technical support. While the $0.89 to $0.92 range is a key resistance zone, continued growth in the ecosystem and clearer regulatory signals could push ADA higher.

Key watch: Will ADA close above $0.92 to confirm strong momentum ahead of the ETF decision?

What could affect the price of ADA?

Cardano’s price is caught between positive developments from upcoming upgrades and challenges from market and regulatory pressures.

1. Protocol Upgrades – The community is investing $71 million to improve scalability with projects like Hydra and Leios.
2. ETF Potential – New U.S. regulations recognize Cardano as a “mature blockchain,” increasing the chances of an ETF approval.
3. Regulatory Risks – The SEC is closely watching staking models and developer responsibilities, which could slow down progress.

Deep Dive

1. Protocol Upgrades (Positive Outlook)

Overview:
Cardano’s community has approved funding of 96 million ADA (about $71 million) for key upgrades such as Hydra, a layer-2 scaling solution, Ouroboros Leios, which speeds up transaction consensus, and a modular node design. Funding is released based on milestones and overseen by Intersect to ensure accountability (Cardano Community Digest).

What this means:
If these upgrades succeed, Cardano’s transaction speed could increase from around 250 transactions per second (TPS) to over 1,000 TPS. This would make Cardano more attractive for decentralized finance (DeFi) projects and businesses. Past major upgrades, like the introduction of smart contracts in 2021, led to ADA price increases of over 80%.

2. ETF Prospects (Mixed Impact)

Overview:
The U.S. CLARITY Act now classifies ADA as a commodity, which simplifies the approval process for exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Grayscale has filed for a spot ADA ETF on the New York Stock Exchange, with a key SEC decision expected by October 26, 2025 (CMC Community Post).

What this means:
If approved, the ADA ETF could bring significant investment inflows similar to what happened with Bitcoin ETFs, which saw prices rise by 60%. However, if the ETF is rejected, ADA could experience a price drop of 20-30%, similar to what happened with Ethereum after its ETF denial in 2017.

3. Regulatory & Market Risks (Negative Outlook)

Overview:
The SEC’s ongoing legal actions, such as the Tornado Cash case, are setting new standards for developer liability. ADA staking platforms, like Bitstamp, are under scrutiny to determine if they are operating as unregistered securities. Technical indicators like RSI (54) and MACD (-0.00011) suggest the market momentum is neutral to slightly bearish.

What this means:
Unfavorable regulatory decisions could reduce developer activity and discourage staking, which currently involves about 1.3 million addresses. If ADA’s price falls below the $0.80 support level, it could trigger further sell-offs down to around $0.73.

Conclusion

Cardano’s medium-term success depends on delivering its planned upgrades to compete with faster blockchains like Solana and the robust Ethereum ecosystem. Approval of an ADA ETF could spark a strong rally in 2025. On the other hand, failing to maintain key support levels or facing regulatory setbacks may lead to prolonged price stagnation.

The key question remains: Can Cardano’s governance adapt quickly enough to overcome regulatory challenges?

What are people saying about ADA?

The Cardano community is buzzing with a mix of hopeful technical outlooks and ongoing debates about governance. Here’s what’s trending right now:

1. Price breakout predictions – Experts are watching for ADA to reach between $1.03 and $2.30 if it holds key support levels.
2. Ecosystem growth – New airdrops and upgrades like Hydra are boosting hopes for decentralized finance (DeFi) on Cardano.
3. Big money disagreements – Founder Charles Hoskinson’s plan to move $100 million from ADA into Bitcoin and stablecoins is stirring debate.

Deep Dive

1. @johnmorganFL: $1.03 Price Target Shows Bullish Signs

“Cardano is expected to rise 26% to $1.03 by August 16, with over half the days showing gains and positive market sentiment.”
– @johnmorganFL (1.2M followers · 890K impressions · 2025-07-19 15:23 UTC)
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What this means: This is a positive sign for ADA as technical indicators align with growing interest from everyday investors. However, the price can be volatile (about 10.5% monthly swings), so caution is advised near resistance levels.

2. @Cardanians_io: Midnight Airdrop Sparks Activity

“The Midnight Glacier Drop, which supports Ledger and Trezor wallets, is closing in 26 days. The $Crawju memecoin surged after launch, with 4 million $ADA involved.”
– @Cardanians_io (280K followers · 2.1M impressions · 2025-09-08 06:39 UTC)
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What this means: This event is somewhat positive, as airdrops can increase network use. But there’s a risk that attention shifts away from important infrastructure development.

3. @TapTools: Institutional Interest Grows

“Franklin Templeton is running Cardano nodes, and Norway’s NBX is partnering on Bitcoin DeFi projects — a key step toward wider adoption.”
– @TapTools (92K followers · 650K impressions · 2025-06-11 21:23 UTC)
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What this means: This is a strong long-term positive, showing growing trust from big financial players. However, these moves haven’t yet caused big price changes.

4. Community Post: Treasury Plan Sparks Debate

“Hoskinson’s idea to exchange $100 million worth of ADA for Bitcoin and stablecoins is controversial — some worry it could increase selling pressure, while others think it might stabilize DeFi.”
– Community member (Posted 2025-06-13 16:56 UTC)
What this means: Opinions are mixed. While this could add liquidity, some worry about the impact on ADA’s supply. Still, ADA’s recent 21.68% gain over 60 days shows optimism is winning out.

5. @WuBlockchain: Audit Concerns Affect Confidence

“Hoskinson denies claims of $600 million misuse and promises an audit in August. Meanwhile, 318 million ADA from the Allegra fork is under review.”
– @WuBlockchain (1.8M followers · 3.4M impressions · 2025-05-19 13:59 UTC)
View original post
What this means: This creates short-term uncertainty until the audit results are clear. However, ADA’s 29.35% gain over 90 days suggests the community remains confident overall.

Conclusion

The outlook for ADA is mixed. Positive technical signals and growing partnerships point to potential gains above $1, but concerns about treasury management and upcoming audits keep some investors cautious. Watch the $0.87 to $0.95 price range closely — a strong move beyond this zone could signal the next major trend for Cardano.

What is the latest news about ADA?

Cardano is making progress with clearer regulations and growing its ecosystem, while large investors are supporting important price levels. Here are the latest highlights:

1. Audit Clears Cardano of $600M Misuse (September 8, 2025) – An independent review confirmed that Cardano handled vouchers transparently, boosting trust.
2. Midnight’s Glacier Drop Adds Hardware Wallet Support (September 8, 2025) – Integration with Ledger and Trezor wallets makes it easier for ADA holders to claim $NIGHT tokens.
3. SNEK Proposes $5M ADA Treasury Loan (September 8, 2025) – The project seeks funds to expand liquidity and get listed on more exchanges, pending community approval.

Deep Dive

1. Audit Clears Cardano of $600M Misuse (September 8, 2025)

What happened:
An independent audit found no fraud in how Cardano managed voucher redemptions, settling concerns that had been around since mid-2024. The review confirmed strong protections were in place. Additionally, the Cardano Constitutional Committee has moved to elected members, supporting decentralized decision-making.

Why it matters:
This is good news for ADA because it removes regulatory uncertainty and builds confidence in how Cardano manages its funds. Clear and transparent governance could attract more institutional investors. (Cardanians.io)

2. Midnight’s Glacier Drop Adds Hardware Wallet Support (September 8, 2025)

What happened:
Cardano’s privacy-focused sidechain, Midnight, expanded its Glacier Drop airdrop to include support for popular hardware wallets like Ledger and Trezor. Now, ADA holders can claim $NIGHT tokens using a safer method that doesn’t require message signing, lowering security risks.

Why it matters:
This makes it easier and safer for ADA users to participate, supporting Cardano’s goal of seamless interaction between different platforms. More hardware wallet support could encourage long-term holding and stability. (Cardanians.io)

3. SNEK Proposes $5M ADA Treasury Loan (September 8, 2025)

What happened:
The SNEK project has requested a loan of 5 million ADA from Cardano’s treasury to help expand onto retail platforms and major exchanges. The proposal is currently being reviewed by Cardano’s decentralized representatives (DReps) and the community.

Why it matters:
If approved, this could boost ADA’s liquidity and increase its presence on exchanges. However, it also challenges the treasury’s ability to manage risk while supporting growth. (Cardanians.io)

Conclusion

This week, Cardano focused on strengthening governance, improving user security, and discussing funding for ecosystem growth—important steps toward becoming a self-sustaining blockchain. With large investors supporting the $0.80–$0.85 price range and upcoming upgrades like Ouroboros Leios, the big question is whether ADA’s strong fundamentals will push its price above $1.