Cardano (ADA) Price Surge by Over 8% Amid Spike in Smart Contracts
The Cardano network is increasingly recognized for its dynamic growth, driven by ongoing advancements that counteract the notion of it being an inactive “ghost chain”. One of the highlights of this growth is the significant increase in Plutus smart contracts. We take a look at what exactly is happening with transaction growth and what to expect from the price of ADA.
Growth in the Number of Cardano’s Plutus Scripts
Plutus serves as a foundational platform enabling developers to create smart contracts for interaction with the Cardano blockchain. It utilizes the Haskell programming language, and over time, it has been refined to support the development of more efficient Cardano smart contracts.
A noteworthy milestone for Cardano was the introduction of Plutus V2, which arrived alongside the Vasil hard fork in September 2022. This update brought about cost savings and decreased the size of transactions. Since its introduction, the latest version of Plutus has been the basis for the creation of thousands of smart contracts within the Cardano ecosystem.
According to a December 26, 2023, report by The Crypto Basic, Cardano saw the addition of 9,584 new smart contracts by late December 2023. By the year’s end, this number approached 10,000, culminating in a total of 14,373 Plutus V1 and V2 smart contracts on the blockchain by the end of 2023.
The expansion of smart contracts on Cardano during the previous year significantly exceeded the growth rate of 2022. This upward trajectory continued into the new year, with the total number of Plutus smart contracts reaching 25,177 by January 31, marking an increase of 10,804 smart contracts in just the month of January.
A February to Remember
February has witnessed a continuation of this rapid expansion, with the count of smart contracts on Cardano climbing from 25,177 at the end of January to 31,604. This growth represents the addition of 6,426 smart contracts in February alone, more than half of the total increase seen in the previous year.
A significant portion of this recent surge is attributed to the rise in Plutus V2 smart contracts, preferred for their benefits over the older V1 version. Of the total contracts added this month, only 46 were based on Plutus V1, with the vast majority, 6,380, being Plutus V2 scripts.
As the momentum for Plutus V2 smart contracts continues, Cardano is preparing for the launch of the Plutus V3 upgrade. The Crypto Basic recently revealed that IOG has scheduled the Plutus V3 release on the Cardano testnet, SanchoNet, which is expected to coincide with the Chang hard fork.
Cardano (ADA) Price Action
This week saw Cardano’s value surge, registering a significant upward movement. Is there room for even more growth? ADA has begun to recover following a period of subdued price activity. Boosted by Bitcoin’s recent rally past $51,000, ADA’s price has reached the $0.60 mark on Gate.io for the first time in weeks, trading at $0.5756 with a 6.71% increase over the last 24 hours.
Critical Support Level: $0.46
Critical Resistance Level: $0.60
ADA has embarked on a notable rally, rebounding strongly from a support level of 46 cents and rapidly ascending towards the 60-cent resistance barrier. Should the market’s bulls surpass this threshold, ADA might set a new record high for the year. Indicators of market momentum are flashing bullish signs, with the Relative Strength Index (RSI) on the three-day chart surpassing 60. This positions ADA firmly in bullish territory, suggesting that the upward trajectory is likely to persist.
The dominance of bullish sentiment is further evidenced by trading volumes, which are marking consistent new highs. This pattern needs to be maintained for ADA’s price to mirror such upward trends. Nonetheless, overcoming the 60-cent resistance will require an intensified buying effort, reminiscent of the vigor seen in mid-December.
ADA Market Outlook
The current market sentiment for ADA is decidedly bullish. ADA is progressing towards the 60-cent resistance mark. Upon reaching this pivotal point, it will face a critical decision: to extend its gains or to undergo a correction. Presently, the advantage lies with the buyers.