Cardano (ADA) is once again in the spotlight, securing the third place in Grayscale’s weekly returns. Recent events, including the anticipated ETF decision and the launch of a new airdrop, are notable.
Climbing Up and Down
For the week ending August 7, Cardano (ADA) posted a 6.3% gain, moving up from ninth place the week before when it had dropped 8.1%. That positions ADA behind XRP (+9.7%) and Stellar, but ahead of major players like Ethereum, Dogecoin, and Bitcoin. Despite this boost, year-to-date gains for ADA stand at 6.8%, with a market cap of $28.7 billion. The price of the token has slipped 4.79% in the last 24 hours, now at $0.7719.
Awaiting ETF Verdict
The U.S. SEC is expected to respond to Grayscale’s Cardano ETF application before the end of August, although a final decision could potentially be pushed to October 23. Optimism has grown as regulators clarified that some staking activities do not qualify as securities. Prediction platform Polymarket currently gives the ADA ETF approval probabilities at 75%, down from 89% on July 10. Should it receive the green light, analysts anticipate fresh institutional inflows and improved liquidity.
Midnight Glacier Drop Launch and Network Growth
Beyond the ETF buzz, Cardano’s ecosystem is being bolstered by Midnight, its privacy-focused protocol. This month, Midnight launched the Glacier Drop airdrop across eight blockchains, including Ethereum and Solana, aiming to drive adoption and showcase its zero-knowledge smart contracts. More than 35,000 users have claimed over 739 million $NIGHT tokens, accounting for 3.08% of the supply, with Cardano claiming 63.4% of the claims. This multi-chain approach is helping Cardano tap into new communities.
With favorable ETF approval chances, network growth, and fresh adoption drivers, Cardano is at a pivotal moment in its market trajectory.
