Cardano (ADA) becomes third-largest crypto as token surges amidst upgrade plans

Cardano (ADA/USD) has gone on an impressive surge as market participants are anxiously waiting for the Signals Smart Contracts protocol upgrade that will launch next month.

The plan to include smart contracts could be a response to critics who insists that the functionality will take much more time to go live.

Cardano’s market becomes bullish as upgrade nears

Are you looking for fast-news, hot-tips and market analysis?

Sign-up for the Invezz newsletter, today.

Cardano has gained about 20% within the past 24 hours, as token’s market cap hit $65 billion due to the recent price surge. As a result, it has become the third-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, bettered only by Bitcoin (BTC/USD) and Ethereum (ETH/USD). 

Cardano’s founder Charles Hoskinson will be making more revelations about the forthcoming Alonzo hard fork. He will also reveal the company’s plans to roll smart contracts on the Cardano network. As a result, the Cardano cryptocurrency market has become bullish as anticipation for the new network upgrade becomes high.

Cardano’s trading volume has increased by about 250% within the past four days. Behavior analytics platform Santiment stated that the increase in buying pressure across the board has led to the recent surge in Cardano’s price.

Experts have also predicted that the uptrend may continue, which may push the asset into price discovery mode.

With the launch of smart contract functionality, Cardano can integrate more functionality for users, which includes decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms. Users have been clamoring for more automated trading. The integration, according to Cardano, will fulfil the wishes and desires of the users.

Cardano Plans Sept. 12 for the upgrade

The upgrade will place the Cardano network in a better position to compete with Ethereum, which is still the undisputable leader in small contracts and blockchain technology.

Cardano’s head of delivery, Nigel Hemsley, noted that the platform will be rolling out the Alonzo upgrade on Monday, September, 12. However, after observers pointed out that the date falls on Sunday, he retweeted, saying that the platform targeted “Sept.12” for the upgrade.