Cardano Moves From 'Ghost Chain' to Industry Leader As NFT Volume Skyrockets Amid Bullish ADA Motion

• Cardano’s NFT volumes rallied in contrast to the broader NFT downturn.
• The new spike in activity makes Cardano the third-largest NFT network behind Ethereum and Solana.
• The glowing figures are being overshadowed by a dwindling TVL that has left enthusiasts scratching their heads.

Cardano has taken its place among the top three networks for Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) but falling total volume locked (TVL) volumes threaten to steal its shine.

According to data from StockWits, Cardano’s NFT trading volume is one of the biggest gainers in 2022 as it rises to be the third-largest digital collectibles protocol. Only Ethereum and Solana rank higher than Cardano in terms of trading volumes.

The gains made by Cardano are remarkable because smart contract functionalities were enabled on the platform one year ago with the Alonzo hard fork. Even more impressive is the falling transaction volumes faced by the broader NFT market that fell by a staggering 97% from the highs of Jan.

Cardano owes its gains to a flurry of exciting digital collectibles like ClayMates, The Ape Society, Mutant NFTs, and DerpBirds. These collectibles pushed Cardano’s NFT volume to an impressive $191 million in the last 30 days.

During this time, The Ape Society, Cardano’s largest NFT project, attained a floor price of 10,000 ADA, while Cardano NFT marketplaces have also posted impressive figures. Cardano’s Vasil upgrade has been hailed as instrumental in the feat, increasing the network’s capacity and reducing transaction times.

From ghost protocol to industry leader

Cardano has endured the tag of being a “ghost” protocol as a result of the perceived slow pace of growth. In recent times, it has leapt shedding off the tag by notching impressive milestones in decentralized applications (DApps).

On Oct 19, the network recorded 97,959 transactions, representing a 75% increase from the previous months. Daily active address for the network has been steadily rising and is currently pegged at an impressive 67,000.

Several updates have also been rolled out for the community, including its layer-2 solution Hydra while a number of updates are in the works.

Despite the stellar figures around the network, Cardano’s TVL has been in a state of steady decline. The TVL fell by almost 20% over the last week and stands at $69 million, spelling gloom for the belief in decentralized finance (DeFi) on the Cardano network.

Enthusiasts can console themselves with the fact that TVL volumes are plummeting across other blockchain networks, with Ethereum and Solana recording significant declines.

Source: Read Full Article