Cardano price has had a bad performance this year as it plunged by over 70% from its November 2024 high. The ADA token was trading at $0.3640 on Christmas Eve, its lowest level since September last year. This article explores the top catalysts that could boost Cardano’s value in 2026.
Cardano Price to Benefit From the Midnight Mainnet Launch
One of the most important catalysts for the Cardano price will be the upcoming Midnight launch in the first quarter of the year. Midnight, which is now in its testnet, will be a sidechain focused on privacy.
There are signs that Midnight will be a successful network in the Cardano ecosystem. For example, the most recent data shows that the number of transactions in the network has jumped to over 474k. Also, the number of blocks in the network has jumped to over 3.03 million.
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More data shows that the NIGHT token is thriving. Its volume has jumped, and its market capitalization has soared to over $1 billion. It has also led to more DEX activity on Cardano. Therefore, ADA price will likely continue doing well towards the mainnet launch.
Leios Upgrade to Happen in 2026
The other important catalyst for Cardano price in 2026 is the upcoming Leios upgrade. Leios is a major upgrade aimed at boosting the network’s activity and performance.
Its main feature is parallel processing, which boosts throughput. Cardano hopes its transactions per second (TPS) will be higher than or on par with other chains like Solana. It also expects that this improvement will boost its ecosystem growth.
Pentad Proposal May Boost ADA Price
Meanwhile, the Cardano Foundation and its partners are working on the Pentad proposal, which aims to address additional challenges affecting the network.
The first main issue is with oracles, which move off-chain data to the on-chain. Cardano aims to add more oracles to its network, a process that has already begun with the Pyth Network. The hope is that it will enroll other companies like Chainlink and RedStone.
Pentad also hopes to bring in top-tier 1 stablecoins like USDT and USDC to Cardano. Such a move will boost its stablecoin supply from the current $30 million.
It also hopes to integrate more data analytics, a process that has started with the Dune partnership. Therefore, the ADA price will likely benefit if the proposal is successful.
ADA ETF Approval
The other potential catalyst for the ADA token is the upcoming launch of the ADA ETF by Grayscale. This fund will likely launch in the first quarter, which will likely lead to more demand from American investors.
Some altcoin ETFs, such as Solana and XRP, have been highly popular among investors. Cardano’s fund may also achieve this success if the developers make these improvements and if its ecosystem growth continues.
Cardano Price Prediction
The weekly chart shows that the ADA price has slumped to a critical support level. It has failed to move below the ascending trendline that connects the lowest swings since January 2023 several times.
The coin has also formed what appears to be a slanted triple-bottom pattern, with its neckline at $1.3245. Therefore, the most likely scenario is that it rebounds and possibly retests the $1 resistance in the coming year. This ADA price forecast will remain intact as long as it stays above the ascending trendline.
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