Analyst explains why she's not buying Cardano

In a YouTube video posted on Nov. 29th, the analyst behind the popular Lady Of Crypto channel explained why Cardano’s ADA token is not part of her investment portfolio. She clarified that this was solely her opinion and analysis, not financial advice.

The analyst started by expressing her respect for Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson, calling him “a positive force for the industry.” However, her analysis has led her to conclude that Cardano (ADA) as a blockchain network faces significant challenges in keeping up with competitors.

The analyst’s first concern is that development on the Cardano blockchain is “very slow” and “excruciating.” She acknowledged supporters highlight the network’s emphasis on peer-reviewed, high-quality updates. However, she countered that crypto is a “fast-paced industry,” so Cardano’s methodical approach leads to lost ground over time.

The analyst also highlighted stats showing relatively little usage and adoption of Cardano’s network. She cited figures ranking Cardano 13th in daily active users, 30th in protocols built on the network and 15th in total value locked. The analyst argued these metrics indicate Cardano is “clearly not performing well enough” compared to other top blockchain networks.

In addition, the analyst claimed Cardano transactions are slower and more expensive than competitors like Solana (SOL) and Polygon (MATIC). She acknowledged Cardano’s upcoming Hydra upgrade aims to improve throughput. However, she argued that Hydra’s impact has so far fallen short of expectations.

Furthermore, the analyst contended much of the enthusiasm around Cardano comes from “manufactured hype”, given their partnership with the prominent marketing agency McCann Dublin. She argued that beyond hype, there is little evidence of “real world adoption” from Cardano’s touted government partnerships.

Finally, the analyst predicted that a “tidal wave” of new blockchain projects with advanced technology will leave Cardano behind. She believes Cardano’s methodical approach makes it “too little too late” to leverage innovations like zero-knowledge proofs.

ZK-Proofs will be the next big revolution in blockchains and when they start rolling out Cardano will still be trying to figure out how to get its transaction latency down from 20 seconds to 1 second.