Can Cardano (ADA) Get Back to $1 by 2028?
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Cardano (CRYPTO:ADA) is priced at about 15.6 cents, meaning it would need a 543% increase to reach $1 again. ADA has dropped 9.3% in 24 hours and 14.5% over the past week, 32.5% in the last month, and 53.5% this year. It has also fallen below the 17-cent closing price from November 13, its lowest close in 90 days.
The $1 threshold remains appealing to many investors, especially since ADA has traded above it before. In August 2025, it peaked at $1.02 before ending the month at 81 cents. However, the entire crypto market is under pressure, led by a sharp decline in Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC). So what would it take for Cardano to get back to $1 by 2028?
Cardano Needs a 543% Gain to Reach $1, a $37.6 Billion Market Value
A 543% climb is no small feat for a cryptocurrency ranked 18th by market value, which is its price multiplied by the coins in circulation. Cardano’s market value stands at approximately $5.84 billion, with about 37.57 billion ADA in circulation. At $1, its market value would rise to around $37.6 billion, which our look at ADA’s road back to $1 found would top TRON (CRYPTO:TRX), then valued at about $31.45 billion.
Supply dilution makes reaching $1 more challenging than it seems, since more coins in circulation means each dollar of price requires more investment. When ADA closed at $1.08 on January 2, 2018, its market value was $27.88 billion. So $1 now requires a higher market value than that $1.08 close did, even though the price is lower.
Moreover, Cardano’s maximum supply is capped at 45 billion coins, meaning roughly 7.4 billion more could still enter the market. ADA also trades 95% below its all-time high of $3.09 from September 2021.
The Last Time Cardano Closed a Month Above $1 Was November 2024
The previous time a market surge pushed ADA above $1, it happened quickly. Cardano opened November 2024 at 34 cents and closed the month at $1.08. However, after ADA reached $1.02 in August 2025, that surge faded within the same month.
ADA has also fallen more sharply than the market leaders during downturns. Bitcoin is down 22% this year, while Ethereum (CRYPTO:ETH) has dropped 35%. In contrast, Cardano has plummeted 53.5% this year, down 68.9% over the past year.
Cardano Needs an Altcoin Rally, Midnight Demand and an ETF
An Altcoin Rally Like November 2024
Altcoins, the cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin, typically rise when Bitcoin’s share of the market declines. In late October, Bitcoin dominance was 59.5%, which means most crypto investment was still in Bitcoin. With Bitcoin down 16.9% over the past month, investors have grown more cautious, limiting moves into smaller coins like Cardano.
Increased Demand From Midnight
Midnight, a privacy-focused blockchain built using Cardano’s technology, launched its main network on March 30 and plans a TRON integration in December. However, Midnight’s transaction fees are paid in NIGHT (CRYPTO:NIGHT) rather than ADA, so its success won’t automatically raise demand for Cardano. In fact, while NIGHT surged 40% in one 30-day stretch, ADA fell 17.9%.
Charles Hoskinson’s New Language and a Spot ETF
Cardano co-founder Charles Hoskinson is working on a new programming language for smart contracts. As of October 19, it had no name, technical spec, or release date. Additionally, Grayscale filed for a spot ETF that would hold ADA directly, which could create more demand; as of October 29, it was still awaiting approval.
Cardano $1 FAQ
Will Cardano Go Back to $1?
Not in the near future. It needs a 543% gain and a market cap of about $37.6 billion, and ADA first has to recover to 50 cents. Our Cardano 2030 price prediction looks further out.
Will Cardano Ever Recover?
A partial recovery might come with an altcoin rally like the one in November 2024. However, a return to its all-time high of $3.09 seems unlikely, given the larger supply of coins now in circulation.
Is Cardano a Good Long-Term Investment?
Over the last five years, ADA has lost 92.3% of its value. Its future depends largely on whether Midnight and Hoskinson’s new programming language can drive demand for ADA. Our comparison of Cardano and XRP under $2 by 2030 sets it against a rival.
Can Cardano Get Back to $1 by 2028?
The chance of Cardano reaching $1 by 2028 looks low. First, ADA needs to climb above its 20-day, 200-day, and 50-day averages of 19, 20, and 22 cents, the highest about 41% above its current price. It also needs a weekly close above the 27-cent high from October 5, about 74% higher. Until ADA recovers to 50 cents, $1 looks out of reach.
However, if ADA slips below its June low of 14 cents, around 10% lower, a rally like the one in 2024 may not be on the horizon. Our analysis of what 5,000 XRP, Cardano and Stellar could be worth by 2028 runs the same numbers against two other coins.
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Sam Daodu is a crypto analyst and the editor of 24/7 Wall St.'s Crypto Desk, where he covers Bitcoin, XRP, Ethereum, Solana and the altcoins investors search for most. His work focuses on price levels, spot ETF flows, on-chain data and the regulatory decisions that move crypto markets, written so a first-time buyer and a seasoned trader can both use it.
Sam has written about crypto professionally since 2019 and has published more than 2,000 articles. Before joining 24/7 Wall St., he wrote for crypto media outlets and Web3 companies and ghostwrote for crypto founders and token launches. His analysis is syndicated on Yahoo Finance, MSN and AOL and has been cited by other crypto news sites. He also founded MacLabs Marketing, a content and personal branding agency for crypto founders and executives.
When he isn't reading charts, Sam is usually at the gym or watching One Piece, a series he maintains has better tokenomics than most altcoins.
