Cardano's Chang Update Spurs Surge In Active Users And Trading Volume

Cardano (ADA) kicked off the new week on a rather slow note, mirroring the broader cryptocurrency market’s subdued activity. ADA was trading at $0.3413 at press time, reflecting a modest growth of about 0.75% over the past 24 hours. However, a wave of change has been building beneath this calm, fueling a surge in Cardano’s usage.

Notably, the successful implementation of the Chang hard fork on Sep. 1 has catalyzed a series of positive developments for Cardano. This update, part of the platform’s Voltaire era, marked a significant milestone in Cardano’s roadmap, effectively placing the blockchain’s governance in the hands of its community.

On Sep. 6, data from popular on-chain analytics firm Santiment showed a sharp rise in daily active addresses on the Cardano blockchain, with active wallets surging to over 39,451, the highest level since March 2023. Although activity has dipped slightly in the days following, it remains significantly above pre-update levels, highlighting the sustained momentum driven by the Chang upgrade.

“As traders await a potential Bitcoin/crypto rebound, Cardano, Quant, and Holo are three notable assets seeing a sudden surge in address activity. When coins that are declining in value suddenly see rises like these, it historically raises the likelihood of a bounce.” Santiment tweeted.

Interestingly, the surge in activity on Cardano isn’t solely due to the Chang update. The launch of Snek.Fun, a new memecoin launchpad, has also significantly boosted the network’s growth. Within seconds of its Sep. 5 debut, the platform drew over 20,000 active users, and within 24 hours, more than 2,200 tokens had been created. This event also triggered a spike in Cardano’s daily trading volume, reaching just over 360,000 ADA, the highest level ever recorded on the network.

Notably, the recent spike in activity follows sharp criticism from popular crypto analyst Lark Davis, who recently addressed Cardano’s performance to his 1.2 million followers on X (formerly Twitter).

“Cardano is not dead. They just had a chain hardfork, so congratulations to Cardano for that,” stated Davis. However, he also pointed out areas for improvement, noting, “The current network statistics for Cardano are not awesome…DEX volumes atrocious. Daily active users atrocious, the total value locked is atrocious.”

That said, as Cardano continues to evolve, bolstered by its newly empowered community and the solid technical foundation laid by the Chang update, the coming months will be pivotal in determining whether the platform can sustain its recent momentum and solidify its position as a leading force in the highly competitive crypto sector.