1. Background of ADA Coin

Cardano is a decentralized platform based on blockchain, with the core idea of providing more secure and sustainable blockchain solutions through peer-reviewed academic research and evidence-based development. Its native cryptocurrency, ADA Coin, is used for paying transaction fees, participating in network governance, and earning staking rewards for nodes.

According to official sources, the Cardano project began in 2017, and ADA Coin officially started trading on the Gate platform on October 1, 2017, quickly gaining attention in the blockchain community. The project is driven by multiple independent entities, including the Cardano Foundation (a non-profit organization), IOG (Input Output Global), a research and engineering company, and ecosystem partners such as Emurgo.

The design goal of ADA Coin is to provide a decentralized financial application environment for individuals, institutions, and governments worldwide. Its core objective is to enable flexible upgrades to the network, reduce energy consumption, and increase transaction throughput and scalability while ensuring security through a layered architecture. From academic research to code implementation, Cardano adheres to the principle of “research first, coding later,” aiming to apply cutting-edge crypto economics and computer science achievements to create practical blockchain infrastructure.

Source:Cardano official website

2. ADA Coin Technical Principles

Cardano uses a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus protocol called Ouroboros. Unlike traditional proof-of-work (PoW), PoS relies on the coin age or the amount of stake held by participants to compete for the right to record transactions. This greatly reduces energy consumption, making the entire network more sustainable while still ensuring security.

Specifically, Ouroboros has undergone rigorous peer review by the academic community and is the first PoS protocol to be formally verified as secure. It uses a combination of epochs and slots to produce blocks:

• Epoch: Each epoch in Cardano consists of a series of slots, with the current typical length of one epoch being 5 days.

• Slot: During each slot, one or more validators (also known as slot leaders) are responsible for packaging transactions and generating blocks.

As the network gradually upgrades, Cardano also provides scalability for smart contracts, metadata processing, and cross-chain communication through a layered architecture. The separation of the smart contract layer from the settlement layer enhances the system’s flexibility. In this way, ADA Coin serves not only as a payment medium but also provides foundational support for various domains such as decentralized application development, decentralized finance, and the metaverse.

3. Market Performance of ADA Coin

3.1 Price and Market Cap

• Current Price (as of 03/17): approximately $0.72

• 24H Change: +2.07%

• Circulating Market Cap: approximately $25.8 billion

• All-Time High (2021-09-02): $3.09

• Historical Low (2020-03-12): $0.01925

The above price data shows that ADA Coin has experienced notable price volatility. Its market performance is closely tied to various factors, such as macroeconomic cycles, blockchain technology advancements, and shifts in market trends. Notably, ADA Coin saw a significant price increase from its early 2020 low to its 2021 peak, followed by a correction as the broader cryptocurrency market entered a period of volatility.

Source:Gate.io Spot Trading

3.2 Trading Volume and Liquidity

The recent 24-hour trading volume (as of 03/17) stands at approximately $90.2 million, indicating strong ongoing market interest and liquidity for ADA Coin. As more applications are launched within the Cardano ecosystem, the number of ADA holding addresses continues to grow, currently estimated to exceed 10 million addresses.

3.3 Supply and Distribution

• Maximum Supply: 45.00 billion ADA

• Current Circulating Supply: approximately 35.96 billion ADA

• Market Cap Ranking: #8

From the distribution details above, it’s clear that a significant portion of ADA Coin has yet to be fully released. This suggests that, under a specific inflation model, the network can continue to incentivize node staking and ecosystem development through block rewards.

Source:CoinMarketCap

4. ADA Coin Economic Model

The Cardano network utilizes ADA Coin for staking and fee payments:

1. Staking Rewards: Users can earn network rewards by delegating ADA Coin to node operators. The staking rewards depend on factors such as the pool size, amount of holdings, and node reliability.

2. Transaction and Gas Fees: Performing transactions and deploying smart contracts on the Cardano network requires paying ADA Coin as transaction fees, which makes ADA Coin the ‘fuel’ for the network’s operation.

3. Governance Function: The Cardano community governance mechanism is continually improving, allowing coin holders to influence the future technical roadmap, parameter adjustments, and ecosystem fund allocation through methods like ‘voting’.

Cardano also has a Treasury Mechanism, where a portion of each block reward is allocated to the treasury to support future ecosystem development. Currently, ongoing discussions and adjustments are being made regarding parameters k and a₀ to balance the number of pools, node participation, and the interests of coin holders.

5. Recent Hot News on ADA Coin

5.1 U.S. President Trump Includes ADA in Cryptocurrency Strategic Reserve

According to the official community brief from the Cardano Foundation, on March 4, 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that ADA, BTC, ETH, XRP, and SOL would be included in the upcoming “Cryptocurrency Strategic Reserve” in the United States. This move reflects a more open attitude from the U.S. government towards blockchain assets and signifies national-level recognition of Cardano’s blockchain technology and ecosystem value.

5.2 Staking Reward Calculator Upgrade

The Cardano community has recently released an upgraded Staking Reward Calculator, featuring more accurate data sources and more intuitive simulation results. This tool helps stakers better understand the profit structure and make more informed decisions when selecting staking pools.

5.3 Cardano Constitution Documentary Released

The IOG team has released a documentary about the Cardano Constitution, documenting the constitutional convention held in Buenos Aires and Nairobi in December 2024. Over 1,400 community members from more than 50 countries participated in discussions and decisions on decentralized governance. On February 23, 2025, the constitution was voted on and executed on-chain, marking a significant step forward for Cardano in blockchain governance.

5.4 Ecosystem Partnerships and Technological Advancements

• Cardano Development & Ecosystem Cooperative (CDEC): Multiple ecosystem partners have jointly initiated CDEC, aiming to drive the iteration of Cardano’s core infrastructure by sharing R&D resources, optimizing supply chain diversity, and other means.

• Protocol Upgrades such as Mithril: The network continues to evolve in scalability and security, with new signature schemes and data compression technologies attracting attention from the technical community.

Source:Blog | Cardano

6. Conclusion

In summary, Cardano (ADA Coin) has demonstrated a solid foundation and unique competitive advantages in areas such as technical innovation, decentralized governance, and sustainable development. The proof-of-stake consensus algorithm it employs significantly reduces energy consumption while still ensuring robust network security. Following U.S. President Trump’s announcement on March 4, 2025, to include ADA in the U.S. cryptocurrency strategic reserve, Cardano has once again become a market focal point, attracting more attention from institutions and the media.

However, like any cryptocurrency project, Cardano faces market volatility and regulatory risks. Whether Cardano can continue to maintain its technological leadership and attract more developers and community contributors will be a crucial factor in determining the long-term performance of ADA Coin. With the emergence of new trends in DeFi, NFTs, stablecoins, and the metaverse, Cardano’s multi-layered architecture, Plutus smart contracts, and continuously evolving economic model may provide additional momentum for its ecosystem. For investors, staying informed about project developments and market dynamics, while considering their own risk tolerance, is essential for making informed, rational decisions and seizing opportunities.