Cardano forecast: factors affecting the rise and fall of value
As of September 2025, Cardano is among the top ten cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, which exceeds $31 billion. According to CoinMarketCap, the altcoin's value has increased by more than 40% over the past 90 days, reaching $0.86, which has allowed Cardano to strengthen its position among the most prominent players in the digital asset market.
The daily trading volume of Cardano over the same period has increased more than threefold, from $413 million to $1.4 billion, indicating growing interest from cryptocurrency investors and traders.
Will Cardano rise: price forecast for 2025–2030
According to analysts at Cointelegraph, if Cardano manages to overcome a key resistance level, the altcoin's value may rise to $1.02 in the near term, and then to $1.12–1.17.
However, analysts also calculate possible negative scenarios: if the price falls below the support line, Cardano's forecast may drop to $0.78–0.68.
CoinPedia analysts presented a fairly optimistic forecast for Cardano in 2025, predicting that the altcoin's value could rise to $1.32–$2.05 by the end of the year. Experts believe that the key factor in ADA's growth, apart from the generally favorable crypto market conditions, was the Cardano Plum upgrade, activated in the first quarter of 2025, which introduced decentralized ecosystem governance (DAO).
However, as experts note, growth is possible only if Cardano maintains its key support level. Otherwise, the altcoin may remain in the range of $0.85–$1.25 during 2025.
Long-term Cardano forecasts vary significantly: some experts believe ADA's value could grow several times over, while others point to the possibility of a decline to $0.12–0.8.
According to Bitget analysts, under an optimistic scenario, ADA's price has the potential to grow to $3–8 already in 2026, and to $5–12 in 2027. Other analysts believe Cardano's price may only reach $3 by 2026.
Another Cardano forecast suggests the altcoin may rise to $1–1.5 within the next 6–12 months if the ecosystem grows in the decentralized finance (DeFi) market.
Additionally, according to Bitget Research, Cardano's price may reach $3.33 with moderate growth by 2030, provided the project's roadmap stages are met. However, if a bullish scenario plays out, the altcoin could reach $10–25.
According to long-term forecasts by CoinPedia, Cardano may reach $2.75 in 2026 and $10.25 by 2030. Other analysts believe Cardano's price could grow only to $8.75 by then.
Cardano prospects: ecosystem development forecast
A significant role in Cardano's ecosystem development could be played by the SEC approval of spot ETFs based on ADA, which in turn could attract billions of dollars in institutional investment. The situation is heated up by applications for launching Cardano ETFs from the significant investment firm Grayscale.
In September 2025, the SEC already approved the listing on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE Arca) of Grayscale's digital fund (GDLC), which includes Cardano. This could significantly accelerate ADA's growth. In addition, the launch of GDLC opens up prospects for further funding approval based on Cardano.
Cardano's development prospects could also be strongly influenced by the decision to include the altcoin in the U.S. national crypto reserve, which Donald Trump announced in March 2025. However, at the moment, nothing is known about ADA's inclusion in the U.S. crypto reserve.
Experts also take into account the growth of integration with the DeFi sector due to the development of the Midnight protocol when compiling Cardano forecasts.
Midnight is a new smart contract platform that functions as a Cardano sidechain and aims to ensure user privacy. The Midnight protocol allows developers to create decentralized applications (DApps) that can integrate with other blockchain networks, including Bitcoin. This will significantly expand Cardano's ecosystem in the future.
A key role in Cardano's development is played by the network's technological strength and stability. According to Cardano Foundation CEO Frederik Gregaard, in the eight years since its launch, Cardano has not experienced a single failure.
Nevertheless, experts note that developers are moving to faster-growing ecosystems such as Ethereum and Solana. This happens because Cardano lags behind other major networks in launching key functions that are important for network activity growth. Therefore, one of the decisive factors for Cardano's DeFi ecosystem growth, according to analysts, is scaling technologies such as Hydra, which will allow the creation of functional decentralized applications.
Despite this, Cardano is almost on par with competitors in terms of growth in the DeFi market: since October 2024, the total value locked (TVL) in the ecosystem has grown by more than 70% to $374 million. If integration with DeFi and RWA, as well as the development of decentralized applications, continues, Cardano will remain one of the key ecosystems in the market with growth prospects.