Cardano launched its initial version in 2017 after two years of research and development. This first version demonstrated Cardano’s innovative proof-of-stake consensus algorithm called Ouroboros, which validates transactions and creates new blocks without massive energy consumption like the more preferred proof-of-work mechanism at the time. According to its website, Cardano is the first blockchain to implement Ouroboros, which it called “the most environmentally sustainable blockchain protocol.”

Since the initial launch, Cardano has gone through several scaling upgrades to expand its capabilities. Most remarkable in these upgrades was the Alonzo upgrade in September 2021 which led to the creation of smart contract functionality on Cardano. Cardano now has one of the highest rates of developer activity with millions of tokens and thousands of smart contracts. These smart contracts are now used in a wide range of activities across various industries.

Like all blockchains, Cardano was launched with its native cryptocurrency named ADA. ADA is named after Ada Lovelace, the first computer programmer. ADA serves as the utility cryptocurrency of the Cardano blockchain and is used to transfer value between users and pay for transaction fees on the network.

Cardano was launched with a max circulating supply of 45,000,000,000 ADA. During the initial coin offering which lasted from 30 September to 31 December 2016, 57.6% of the total supply of ADA was sold for $0.0024 per coin. Early investors were able to accumulate the new cryptocurrency at a massive discount compared to today’s prices.

After its initial coin offering and official launch in September 2017, ADA was listed on cryptocurrency exchanges where the open market determined its price based on supply and demand. 

For the first two months, Cardano price traded majorly below $0.10. Like most new cryptocurrencies at the time, the crypto experienced a huge price surge in December 2017 during the first crypto boom. The price reached an all-time high of $1.18 on January 4, 2018, representing a gain of over 49,000% from its ICO price.

After the bull run in late 2017, the Cardano ADA price entered a multi-year bear market along with the rest of the crypto market. By April 2018, the price of Cardano had dropped over 87% from its all-time high to $0.14. The price decline would then continue for the rest of the year, save for a brief upswing to $0.356 in May. The cryptocurrency ultimately saw a 98% decline from its peak and traded primarily between $0.03 and $0.10 from 2018 to 2020. In March 2020, ADA dropped to as low as $0.02.

In 2021, the crypto market recovered and ADA went on another huge rally along with the rest of the market. It reached a new all-time high of $3.09 in September 2021, gaining over 2,900% from 2020. The Cardano coin price increase was fueled by new interest in cryptocurrencies, the launch of smart contracts across different blockchains, the NFT market boom, and new exchange listings.

Like a cycle, the wider crypto market went into another bearish period in the years after the 2021 surge, causing ADA to bleed most of its price gains. The price dropped throughout 2022 to reach a yearly low of $0.2443 on December 30. ADA followed this bearish trend for the majority of 2023 and traded primarily below $0.40 to bottom out around $0.2456 in October.

More recently, ADA has seen a resurgence in interest in 2024, although not as much as those registered in 2021. As a result, the crypto is yet to register a break above its current all-time high of $3.09. Despite this, the Cardano price today is now at an increase of over 144% from the October bottom. This renewed interest pushed ADA above the $0.77 mark on March 14, 2024 for the first time since May 2022. Now, the crypto has gained the attention of crypto analysts with some even dropping Cardano price predictions up to 2030.

The price story of ADA so far has been one of extreme volatility with ups and downs throughout its brief history. However, the crypto remains an intriguing option for investors. NewsBTC is committed to bringing readers the latest Cardano (ADA) news updates, analysis, and Cardano price prediction.