What is Cardano? Explaining the characteristics, price and future prospects of the cryptocurrency ADA

Cardano is a next-generation blockchain that is attracting attention in the fields of DeFi (decentralized finance) and smart contracts. In particular, its design philosophy that emphasizes academic approaches and real-world applicability is what sets it apart from other projects.

The native token, ADA, has uses such as staking and governance participation, and has a presence as an important project in the cryptocurrency market.

In this article, we will explain the basics of Cardano, its technical advantages, token design, and future prospects.

ADA Price Level and Market Cap

Current price: 90.70 yen

As of June 17, 2025 (CoinMarketCap "ADA Price, Chart, Market Cap")

As of June 2025, the price of ADA is around 90 yen, ranking 10th in market cap in the entire cryptocurrency (virtual currency) market. At one point, it recorded a price of over 300 yen, but it has now undergone a certain adjustment and is showing a stable price trend.

Market trends and price background

The price is driven by Cardano's technological advances and the expansion of social use cases, particularly government partnerships with African countries, and the implementation of DeFi (decentralized finance), NFTs (non-fungible tokens), voting systems, etc., which are supporting the value of ADA.

Factors that will influence future evaluations

Furthermore, ongoing discussions on the creation of physical ETFs (exchange-traded funds) in the U.S. are also supporting investor sentiment. Market valuations are likely to fluctuate in the future as new use cases emerge and regulatory developments are made.

Who was the founder, Charles Hoskinson?

Cardano is a project founded by Charles Hoskinson, co-founder of Ethereum. Hoskinson has a background as a mathematician and is known for his emphasis on an academic approach. After being involved in the early days of Ethereum, he advocated the need for a blockchain that introduced more disciplined development and formal verification methods.

Hoskinson is also very interested in solving social issues through blockchain, and emphasizes approaches to areas where financial infrastructure is underdeveloped.

Academic approach and three-institution structure

Cardano places emphasis on peer review of academic papers, and the protocol is implemented after rigorous verification. Development and operation are shared among the following three organizations:

• IOHK (Input Output): Responsible for the design and technical development of Cardano's core protocol. Hoskinson serves as CEO.
• Emurgo: Responsible for commercial aspects such as startup support, enterprise adoption, and partnership strategy.
• Cardano Foundation: Oversees the project's global adoption and regulatory response, standardization, and community governance.

Through the cooperation of these three parties, Cardano is developing while maintaining a balance between technological innovation, commercial development, and public interest. In particular, the Cardano Foundation acts as a bridge between regulatory agencies in each country, contributing to ensuring global reliability.

Key technical features of Cardano 

• Ouroboros PoS Algorithm

Cardano uses its own PoS (Proof of Stake) algorithm, Ouroboros, which allows for energy-efficient block generation.

• Layered structure for design flexibility

The structure that separates the transaction processing layer and the smart contract layer enhances scalability and security, and also allows for flexible support for future upgrades and changes.

• Smart contract development support tool

For the development of smart contracts, unique development languages ​​and tools are provided, such as Plutus and the finance-specific Marlowe, allowing for specialized applications.

Cardano has gone beyond being a simple blockchain platform and is being put to practical use in a variety of fields, particularly in the development of dApps (decentralized applications) that utilize smart contracts and token economies, DeFi (decentralized finance), NFTs, and environmental and social governance (ESG)-related projects.

Cardano’s practical application in the NFT field

More than 10 million NFTs have been issued on Cardano since 2021. It is operated by taking advantage of the characteristics of the PoS chain, which is highly energy efficient and has low fees.

In particular, projects such as "Clay Nation" have attracted attention through collaborations with music artists and are strengthening collaboration with celebrities and brands. For businesses looking for the reliability and scalability of NFTs, Cardano has become a practical option.

In addition, the mechanism that allows metadata to be retained without the need for smart contracts when issuing NFTs also lowers the barrier to entry for developers and creators.

Development in the DeFi (decentralized finance) field

Cardano has several DeFi (decentralized finance) platforms, including DEXs (decentralized exchanges) such as Minswap and SundaeSwap. These are built using Cardano's smart contract function "Plutus" and provide users with functions such as swapping, staking, and lending.

From 2024 to 2025, the total amount of "TVL (Total Value Locked) = assets locked in DeFi" has also increased significantly, and Cardano has grown into one of the major DeFi (decentralized finance) platforms following Solana and Polkadot.

Contribution to ESG and sustainable projects 

Cardano is also recognized as a blockchain with a high ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) rating due to its low environmental impact. In addition to its network structure with low carbon emissions, projects such as ReFi (Regenerative Finance) and carbon credit tokenization are being developed.

A representative example is the "Veritree" project, which supports reforestation. This project supports tree planting activities through ADA and records the proof on the blockchain, thereby increasing the transparency of companies' CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) activities and SDGs compliance.

Aggregate Supply and Inflation Control

ADA has a maximum supply of 45 billion and is designed to maintain scarcity. Although there is already a lot of ADA in circulation, distribution is being done in stages to ensure the sustainability of the project and price stability.

・Staking and reward system

In Cardano, anyone can participate in the operation of the network by holding ADA. This is realized in the form of "staking," and users can earn rewards by delegating their ADA to a stake pool.

The operation of stake pools is decentralized, and there are more than 1,000 pools. Rewards are distributed according to the contribution of block generation, and ADA holders can choose which pool to join of their own volition. This achieves both decentralization of the network and enhanced security.

・Governance participation and the CIP system

Cardano is one of the few projects that realizes "on-chain governance," and token holders can participate in improving the project through the Cardano Improvement Proposal (CIP) system.

CIP accepts proposals for protocol updates and network policy changes, and votes decide whether to implement them. This has enabled Cardano to move away from centralized operation and toward truly decentralized decision-making.

This type of governance mechanism is the foundation for the network to flexibly respond to changes in the times and the market, and is expected to evolve further as it transitions to the "Voltaire" phase (fully decentralized governance).

Comparison with Ethereum

Ethereum is a pioneer of smart contracts, and is far ahead of the rest in terms of the developer community and the expansion of its ecosystem. On the other hand, scalability issues such as rising transaction fees and network congestion have been pointed out.

Cardano initially adopted PoW (Proof of Work), but then switched to PoS through Ouroboros. PoS is energy efficient and achieves high-speed processing while ensuring the decentralization of the network. In addition, smart contract functions have been gradually strengthened, and the structure suitable for enterprise implementation is also highly evaluated.

The major difference with Ethereum is the emphasis on safety through formal verification and peer review, and there are times when Cardano wins in terms of risk management.

Comparison with Solana

Solana is a high-speed blockchain that can process thousands of transactions per second, and is one of the industry leaders in terms of throughput. However, it has experienced multiple network outages, and questions remain about its stability and reliability.

Cardano prioritizes network robustness and sustainability over processing speed, achieving consistency in block generation and high energy efficiency. While Solana may have an advantage in some applications, Cardano is more reliable as a stable infrastructure that operates over the long term.

Comparison with Polkadot

Polkadot is a project that specializes in cross-chain technology that connects different blockchains. Its network structure is characterized by a distributed architecture called "relay chain + parachain."

On the other hand, while Cardano is considering cross-chain support, it is placing emphasis on practical applications such as social implementation, governance, and financial inclusion. For this reason, Cardano's approach is considered more realistic for countries and regions that want to introduce blockchain as social infrastructure.

Roadmap and Development Phases

Cardano continues to grow along a phased development roadmap. It is currently in the “Basho” phase, where the focus is on network scalability and performance.

In this phase, the implementation of a layer 2 solution called Hydra is underway, aiming to process more than 1 million transactions per second. Plans also include strengthening sidechain connectivity and improving the linkage between dApps (decentralized applications), which is expected to further expand in applications such as DeFi (decentralized finance), NFTs, and games.

The following “Voltaire” phase aims to achieve full on-chain governance, allowing ADA holders to make decisions on network policy. This will move Cardano to a mature stage as an autonomous decentralized public infrastructure.

Strengthening functions and improving systems 

In terms of functionality, the developer experience will be improved by updating the smart contract language "Plutus," and privacy functions will be enhanced using ZK-SNARKs, a type of zero-knowledge proof.

In terms of systems, attention is being paid to regulatory trends in major markets such as the United States and the EU, and there is a possibility that the application for approval of a spot ETF for ADA will progress in 2025. If the ETF is approved, it is expected that institutional investors will inflow funds, which will directly lead to the expansion of the market size.

In addition, the Cardano Foundation is working with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) to address compliance issues and to consider building infrastructure for financial institutions, and the foundation is steadily laying the groundwork for ensuring reliability in the commercial domain.

Market Risk and Price Fluctuations

Unlike stocks and bonds, cryptocurrencies such as ADA are an asset class with very large price fluctuations. Because they are strongly influenced by Bitcoin (BTC) and US monetary policy, even if Cardano itself makes progress, the price may fluctuate significantly depending on the overall market sentiment.

In addition, when part of the supply is unlocked or when large investors sell, there is a risk of a sudden drop in the short term. Rather than overreacting to price charts, it is necessary to focus on mid- to long-term technological progress and adoption.

Technology learning costs

Cardano uses its own development language, Plutus, which is safe and type-guaranteed, but is said to be more difficult to learn than other blockchains.

This can be a barrier to entry for engineers, and in the short term it may affect the speed of development of dApps (decentralized applications). However, the Cardano community is working to develop educational resources and tutorials, and as of 2025 the number of developers is steadily increasing.

Regulatory compliance and international consistency

As the movement towards regulating cryptocurrencies becomes stronger worldwide, the asset classification of Cardano and ADA may differ depending on the country or region. This may lead to the risk that ADA trading may be restricted or that the way it is handled on exchanges may change.

Cardano is a blockchain project that combines the three elements of technical perfection, social implementation, and energy efficiency. ADA is its core token and plays a wide range of roles, including staking, governance, and remittance.

As the practical application phase accelerates, its value and influence are likely to increase further as it gains institutional credibility and is adopted internationally.

Images: Iolite, Shutterstock, and official websites

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