Charles Hoskinson said Cardano is technologically stronger than in 2024, but weaker market performance, a lower ranking and softer community sentiment show engineering gains have not lifted its brand or competitiveness.
Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson said the project has become stronger on the engineering side than it was in 2024, but that progress has not translated into better market performance or a stronger brand position. He pointed to the Ouroboros Leios upgrade, now in testing, as Cardano’s next major technical milestone and said its completion would significantly improve transaction throughput and scalability. Hoskinson said Cardano’s decentralized governance model still gives the ADA community the ability to set a roadmap, allocate resources, vote and implement changes without a central authority, but he acknowledged strategic decisions are needed for the network to regain competitiveness. ADA rose as high as $1.31 after the 2024 U.S. presidential election and remained among the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, but it has since fallen to around $0.17, roughly 87% below its December 2024 peak, while its ranking has slipped to 14th. Community sentiment has also weakened amid project cancellations, EMURGO’s withdrawal from Pentad and governance-related controversy.