In recent months, the Cardano (ADA) ecosystem witnessed significant growth across various key metrics. Despite the bearish market sentiment that impacted ADA’s price, the Cardano Foundation reported an uptick in investor activity and blockchain usage. Smart contract transactions surged by 31%, while metadata transactions (excluding smart contracts) grew by 20%. However, simple transactions faced a decline of 49%. The ecosystem recorded a total of 95.9 million transactions in August, marking a slight increase of 1.51%. The number of wallets created on the blockchain also saw positive movement, rising by 0.67% to reach 4.87 million. Conversely, the number of delegated wallets decreased by nearly 1%, totaling 1.33 million.
One of the notable developments within the Cardano ecosystem was the increase in plutus scripts, with 6,709 new smart contracts created. These smart contracts enable developers to build secure decentralized applications without intermediaries. Additionally, there was a 0.85% increase in Cardano’s native tokens, resulting in the creation of 10.3 million new tokens. The most significant growth was recorded in policy creation, which saw a remarkable 6.53% surge with 160,299 new policies introduced. These advancements showcase the growing potential of Cardano as a platform for decentralized applications and token creation.
Charles Hoskinson, the founder of Cardano, provided insights into the upcoming developmental and governance phases of the network following the successful Chang upgrade. Hoskinson described the current state of the Cardano network as entering a “90-day bootstrap phase,” during which key governance components will be activated. The roadmap for the Chang hard fork outlines the transition to the age of Voltaire, where the network aims to achieve full decentralization. Various initiatives, including the registration of Delegated Representatives (DReps) and the formation of an interim Constitutional Committee, will take place during this bootstrap phase. Plans for the “Chang +1 upgrade” are also in motion, expected to bring about fully decentralized governance by December 2024.
Cardano is making strides towards decentralization, with plans to draft its first formal constitution. Over 50 workshops have been held globally to engage stakeholders in the process, with delegates elected during these workshops contributing to a constitutional convention scheduled to occur in Argentina this December. Hoskinson emphasized the importance of the ecosystem’s treasury, valued at approximately $600 million in ADA, undergo an annual budgeting process to address the needs of the ecosystem, including marketing and development initiatives. IOG, the engineering firm behind Cardano, will eventually relinquish its governance role as the network becomes fully decentralized.
Market intelligence platform Santiment highlighted a surge in address activity for ADA, signaling potential market activity during price declines. Currently, ADA has seen a nearly 3% increase over the past week, trading at around $0.344, with a recent 2% rise in the last 24 hours. Despite a monthly loss of nearly 1%, the Cardano ecosystem continues to see growth and innovation, positioning itself as a key player in the blockchain space.
Overall, the growth and advancements within the Cardano ecosystem reflect a promising future for the platform as it continues to enhance its capabilities and expand its reach in the decentralized finance landscape.