Cardano Fully Erases Election Rally Gains – Is ADA at Risk of Falling Out of the Top 10?

Cardano [ADA]

Cardano (ADA) has experienced significant price declines, completely erasing its gains from last year's election rally. With declining market performance and diminished user engagement, concerns are growing about ADA's stability and its position among the top ten cryptocurrencies.

Key Takeaways

Cardano's price has fallen back to early election levels, wiping out all gains from the past year and now hovering around $0.30.
The market capitalization of ADA has dropped by $25 billion in 2025, a 64% decrease bringing its valuation to $14 billion.
Active user engagement on the Cardano network has declined sharply, with less than 25,000 active addresses compared to 93,000 during the election.
Increased competition from other platforms like Sui (SUI) raises questions about Cardano’s current valuation.
Whales are selling significant amounts of ADA, contributing to its recent price struggles.

Cardano's Declining Performance and Its Impact

It’s been over a year since the election cycle sparked a bull market for many cryptocurrencies. Despite facing fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) along with several abrupt price drops, most altcoins have maintained a solid hold on their election rally gains. This has allowed long-term holders to continue enjoying unrealized profits.

However, Cardano (ADA) hasn’t shown the same resilience. Following a poor performance in the third and fourth quarters, ADA has plunged back to its early election levels. This decline has led to a complete wipeout of its yearly gains, positioning the currency near the crucial support level of $0.30.

ADA
Source: TradingView (ADA/USDT)

This notable weakness is also clear in Cardano's market capitalization. According to CoinMarketCap, ADA has lost a staggering $25 billion this year. This translates to a significant 64% drop, reducing its market valuation to $14 billion. In contrast, even Dogecoin (DOGE) has managed to limit its losses to 50%. Simply put, Cardano has underperformed even among meme coins.

With the market-cap gap between Cardano and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) narrowing daily, one must ask: how long until ADA potentially drops below BCH in the crypto rankings?

Fundamental Challenges for ADA's Ranking

The technical struggles of ADA are now affecting its underlying fundamentals. Despite recent upgrades to the Cardano network, user engagement has stagnated. Data from DeFiLlama shows that active addresses on Cardano, which soared to 93,000 during the election period, have retreated to below 25,000, dampening any fear of missing out (FOMO) on potential gains.

Moreover, analysts are drawing attention to Sui (SUI), which boasts a total value locked (TVL) that is 4.5 times greater than Cardano's, despite having only about one-third of ADA's market cap. This indicates that Cardano may be overvalued when compared to its competitors.

Cardano
Source: TradingView (ADA/USDT)

Additionally, the selling pressure from large investors, or "whales," has become evident. Analysts have reported that whales have sold off 120 million ADA over the past two months, directly correlating with ADA's approximately 50% decrease from its peak of $0.80. This trend underscores Cardano's difficulties in maintaining the $0.80 level as reliable support.

In summary, the combination of diminished FOMO, declining TVL, ongoing technical weaknesses, and fragile fundamentals suggests that Cardano may be overvalued. Given this scenario, it seems only a matter of time before ADA risks losing its position in the top ten cryptocurrency rankings.

Conclusion

As Cardano navigates these challenging waters, stakeholders will closely monitor its developments in hopes of a turnaround. However, the current indicators point towards an uncertain future for ADA.