In a cryptocurrency landscape marked by uncertainty and fluctuating growth patterns, Cardano, the renowned blockchain platform, emerged as a shining star in the month of August. This unexpected surge across various dimensions of the Cardano ecosystem has ignited a palpable buzz of excitement and intrigue within the cryptocurrency community. From a remarkable surge in transaction volumes to groundbreaking web hosting experiments on the blockchain, Cardano's recent achievements are capturing the attention of investors and blockchain enthusiasts alike. Subsequently, the project’s native token, ADA, which had been trading in a sideways channel for over a week, may break out soon.
Transaction Volume Soars
The most striking statistic that underscores Cardano's recent success is the remarkable uptick in transaction volume. In August, Cardano reported a staggering increase of 1.6 million transactions. This exponential growth in transaction activity is a clear testament to the platform's increasing popularity and utility. While many cryptocurrencies experienced fluctuations and stagnation in their transaction volumes during the same period, Cardano demonstrated resilience and vigor.
Expanding Ecosystem
Cardano's growth is not confined to transaction volume alone; it extends to its ever-expanding ecosystem. Last month, the platform welcomed two new projects, adding to the already impressive roster of 138 projects currently active. Furthermore, an additional twelve projects are in the development phase, indicating a robust pipeline of innovation on the horizon. In an environment where many blockchain platforms struggle to attract and sustain projects, Cardano's ability to consistently attract new ventures is commendable.
Token Policies and Native Tokens
The surge in Cardano's ecosystem also extends to token policies and native tokens. The number of token policies on the Cardano blockchain increased by a remarkable 850 during the previous month. This significant jump in token policies illustrates the versatility and adaptability of the Cardano platform for various use cases. Additionally, Cardano minted an astounding 140,000 new native tokens during the same period. This proliferation of native tokens highlights Cardano's role as a fertile ground for digital asset creation.
Technical Advancements
Behind the scenes, Cardano has been actively enhancing its technical capabilities. One of the most crucial aspects of this growth has been in the realm of smart contracts. The number of Plutus v1 scripts, which form the backbone of Cardano's smart contract functionality, increased by 231, bringing the total to an impressive 6,123.
Notably, Plutus v2 scripts also saw substantial growth, with an increase of 510, raising the total count to 3,358. These advancements are pivotal in establishing Cardano as a formidable player in the decentralized application (DApp) and DeFi (Decentralized Finance) sectors, where smart contracts play a central role.
Defying Broader Trends
Cardano's remarkable growth throughout August stands out as an anomaly in the broader cryptocurrency market. While other cryptocurrencies experienced fluctuations and a lackluster performance, Cardano exhibited consistent and substantial growth across various metrics. This has undoubtedly piqued the interest of both investors and blockchain enthusiasts, positioning Cardano as a standout performer in the industry.
Cardano Experiments With Static Website Hosting
While cryptocurrencies have dominated the headlines, the underlying blockchain platforms have been quietly evolving and expanding their capabilities. Cardano, is making waves yet again with a groundbreaking use case that demonstrates its versatility and potential. In a first-of-its-kind development, a static website has been fully hosted on the Cardano blockchain. This marks a significant milestone and opens up a world of possibilities for decentralized web hosting and beyond.
The Pioneering Proof of Concept
On 6 September 2023, the Cardano (ADA) ecosystem witnessed a historic moment. Developer Dave Beaumont, a seasoned member of the Cardano community, successfully demonstrated a proof of concept that could revolutionize the way websites are hosted and accessed. The concept is simple yet profound, as a static website was fully hosted on the Cardano blockchain. This achievement is not only a testament to Cardano's capabilities but also a glimpse into the future of decentralized web hosting.
Beaumont achieved this feat in collaboration with IAGON, a decentralized storage project. Using IAGON's decentralized storage infrastructure, he replicated and cloned the website of IAGON itself, making it accessible via the Cardano blockchain. In addition to migrating the website to Cardano, Beaumont integrated new JavaScript dependencies into the website, leveraging the Next.js framework. This combination of technologies and collaboration with IAGON has set a new standard in the world of programmatic and non-programmatic blockchains.
A Trailblazing Accomplishment
Dave Beaumont described this achievement as a "successful Proof-of-Concept test." It represents a significant step forward in the blockchain space, as it demonstrates the ability to host and serve a complete website directly from decentralized storage on the Cardano blockchain. To put it simply, this is the first-ever website hosted on Cardano's blockchain, marking a historic moment not only for Cardano but possibly for the entire blockchain industry.
In his own words, Beaumont expressed the groundbreaking nature of this accomplishment: "This will be the first-ever website served from decentralized storage on Cardano (ADA) to my knowledge (maybe the first across all blockchains I don't know). Of course, this will open up further options and is just a proof of concept around possibilities."
Collaborative Efforts with IAGON
The journey to this pioneering achievement was not a solitary one. Dave Beaumont acknowledged the invaluable assistance of the IAGON team in conducting the research and development necessary to launch the website on the Cardano blockchain. This spirit of collaboration between projects within the blockchain ecosystem highlights the cooperative and innovative nature of the cryptocurrency community.
The Path Forward
As the cryptocurrency world buzzes with excitement over this groundbreaking achievement, the inevitable question arises: What is next? Dave Beaumont and the Cardano community are not resting on their laurels. Beaumont hinted at potential future developments, including mapping websites to decentralized domain name systems (DNS) and experimenting with dynamic websites hosted on Cardano.
Coincidentally, on the same day the website went live on Cardano, decentralized DNS creator D3 Global successfully completed seed funding, raising an impressive $5 million. Notably, this funding round attracted top-tier venture capital firms, including Shima Capital, signaling growing interest and investment in blockchain DNS solutions.
Price Overview
In terms of 24-hour price performance, CoinStats indicated that ADA saw its value rise 0.32% throughout the past day of trading. Furthermore, the positive daily performance had nudged the altcoin’s weekly performance further into the green zone. Subsequently, ADA’s price was up 0.78% over the past 7 days.
Price chart for ADA (Source: CoinStats)
The cryptocurrency was not able to replicate its positive daily performance against the market leader Bitcoin (BTC). The cryptocurrency price tracking website indicated that ADA was down 1.66% against BTC. This meant that 1 ADA token was estimated to be worth 0.00000979 BTC at press time.
Technical Overview
Daily chart for ADA/USDT (Source: TradingView)
Meanwhile, technical indicators suggested that buyers and sellers were waiting for a significant development before driving the altcoin’s price in a definitive direction. This was evident by the fact that the daily RSI line and the daily RSI SMA line were positioned at somewhat at the same level between 39 and 40. Furthermore, the 9-day EMA line and the 20-day EMA line were leveling off. Short-term momentum was, however, in favor of sellers at press time as the shorter EMA line was still positioned below the 20-day EMA line.
The latest sideways trading period may be coming to an end in the next few days, since a symmetrical triangle chart pattern formed on ADA’s daily chart. This suggested that a price breakout in either direction over the next few days is imminent.
If ADA’s price breaks out towards the downside, then it may drop to as low as $0.2375, which was the next key support level. Conversely, a positive breakout could lead to ADA rising to as high as $0.2920 in the coming 2 weeks. A confirmation of this bullish move will be when ADA’s price closes a daily candle above the $0.2645 resistance level to flip the price point into support.
Disclaimer: Coinpaper does not recommend that any cryptocurrency should be bought, sold, or held by you. Always conduct your own research and consult your financial advisor before investing in any digital asset.
