Cardano Fell 29% in 30 Days, Even More Than XRP. Does Cardano Have a Future?

Cardano (CRYPTO:ADA) has declined 29.7%, outpacing its competitor XRP (CRYPTO:XRP) by 4.8% over the past 30 days. This has led many holders to question Cardano’s future. On November 10, 2026, ADA is priced at $0.17, while XRP trades at $1.04.

In the last year, ADA has lost 70.1% of its value and trades 94.4% below its peak of $3.09 reached in September 2021. In contrast, XRP is down 71.5% from its July 2025 high of $3.65. So is Cardano simply caught up in a broader market decline, and does Cardano have a future once the market stabilizes?

A Tech Selloff and Forced Liquidations Drove Cardano’s Decline

Cardano’s recent price drop can be traced to a selloff in tech stocks. Following the Democrats’ success in the November 3 midterms, tech stocks took a hit on November 5 as investors anticipated stricter regulations on AI data centers. Since cryptocurrencies often move in tandem with tech stocks, Cardano suffered alongside them.

The situation worsened due to leverage. A liquidation occurs when an exchange force-sells a trader’s assets after prices fall to a certain level. Each forced sale can drive prices down further, potentially triggering more liquidations. Data from CoinGlass indicates that long positions, which profit only when prices rise, bore the brunt of these losses during the selloff, with most ADA liquidations affecting long holders.

While forced selling may eventually stop once overleveraged traders exit the market, ADA still needs new buyers to turn stability into a rally. Currently, the charts indicate a lack of new buyers. ADA is trading 13% below its 20-day moving average of $0.20, 17% below its 200-day average of $0.21, and 21% below its 50-day average of $0.22. Trading below all three averages indicates that sellers currently dominate the market.

Over the same 30-day period, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) fell 11.3%, Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) fell 18.4%, and Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) fell 24.4%. Cardano’s larger drop can be attributed to weak buying interest, with lower overall platform activity giving traders little incentive to hold ADA during downturns.

Cardano’s Staking, Governance, and Ongoing Development Still Work

Despite its recent struggles, Cardano still offers value to its holders. Staking lets ADA holders delegate their coins, helping secure the network while earning new ADA in return, without any lock-up period. In contrast, the XRP Ledger offers no native rewards, though a proposed lending protocol could change that.

Cardano also features an on-chain treasury, where holders vote on spending proposals. Although this democratic system faced challenges- for instance, a proposal to fund the 2026 Cardano Summit fell short of the required two-thirds vote- it’s operational, albeit slow.

On the development front, Cardano continues to innovate. The mainnet for Midnight, a new privacy-focused sister chain, launched on March 30. However, the fees operate on the NIGHT token, so this expansion does not directly drive demand for ADA. Charles Hoskinson, one of Cardano’s co-founders, is working on a new smart contract language, though by October 19 it still had no name, spec, or release date.

XRP Beats Cardano on DeFi, ETF Access and Longer-Term Performance

DeFi (decentralized finance) remains a weak point for Cardano. The total value locked in Cardano’s lending and trading applications is comparatively low compared with competitors like Solana or Ethereum. Additionally, Cardano’s stablecoin supply, which is essential for on-chain trading, remains limited despite Circle’s recent introduction of USDCx.

XRP has a significant advantage in access to Wall Street. There are already spot XRP ETFs trading, such as the Bitwise XRP ETF, while a U.S. spot ADA ETF had yet to receive approval when we last reviewed what ADA needs to reach $1.

Over longer periods, XRP has also outperformed Cardano. Over 90 days, XRP has gained 5.3% while ADA has lost 2.9%. Although XRP fell more sharply in the past week, down 18.4% compared to ADA’s 8.9%, the overall performance highlights XRP’s stronger market positioning.

Cardano FAQ: Its Future, Recovery, and Potential to Reach $1

Does Cardano have a future?

Yes, Cardano remains a functioning network with staking, governance, and ongoing development. The primary challenge is converting network activity into consistent demand for ADA.

Will Cardano ever recover?

Reaching its all-time high of $3.09 seems unlikely in the near term. A more attainable goal could be for ADA to regain its 50-day average of $0.22, approximately 27% above its current price.

Will Cardano reach $1?

At a price of $0.17, ADA would need to climb about 477% to hit $1. This would likely require a broad altcoin rally, significant DeFi growth, and ETF approval. We’ve explored the potential future value of Cardano holdings by 2030.

Does Cardano Have a Future Strong Enough to Support ADA?

For now, the outlook isn’t clear. ADA’s recovery depends on several factors that have yet to materialize, such as U.S. spot ETF approval and the introduction of Hoskinson’s new programming language.

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