Top Five Cardano Stories Of 2021

<div><p><em>2021 was a massive year for<a href="https://cryptosrus.com/currencies/ADA/cardano/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Cardano</a>, the most loved and hated smart contract protocol around. These are the top Five Cardano Stories of 2021.</em></p> <h2>Covered:</h2> <ul><li>Cardano 2021</li> <li>Smart Contracts</li> <li>SundaeSwap</li> <li>eToro Delisting</li> </ul><h2>Cardano 2021</h2> <p>It was a big year for Cardano, to say the least. The smart contract protocol started the year in the $0.17 USD range and is currently trading in the $1.38 range as of press time. That’s massive growth compared to, say, BTC.</p> <p>That hasn’t stopped the haters from hating. Sure, it hasn’t risen above that much, at least consistently above its February high of $1.34. So for Cardano newbies, its growth in 2021 has been frustrating. For loyal Cardanians, however, they aren’t too upset.</p> <p>But that’s just price action. The year was so much more than that for this still nascent (development-wise) smart contract protocol.</p> <p>Let’s go through the year and take a look at what exactly made this a big year for Cardano.</p> <h2>5. Cardano Ethiopia Announcement</h2> <p>To many, the <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelwolfson/2019/04/30/cardano-founder-launches-enterprise-blockchain-framework-in-collaboration-with-ethiopian-government/?sh=67d4a0564e10" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ethiopia announcement was a disappointment</a>. Most expected that this much-hyped deal would result in something similar to what we saw with El Salvador adopting Bitcoin as legal tender. That was always a pipe dream, though.</p> <p>What Hoskinson ended up delivering was an intriguing partnership with a government that would provide identity services for an underserved market.</p> <p>Recommended: <a href="https://cryptosrus.com/what-is-cardano/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">What Is Cardano?</a></p> <h2>4. eToro Delisting</h2> <p lang="en" dir="ltr">Charles Hoskinson called the delisting, “Fear, uncertainty, and disinformation.” No <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FUD?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FUD</a> here, just crystal clear information.</p> <p>Get our recap below 👇<a href="https://t.co/kguMTboDC5">https://t.co/kguMTboDC5</a></p> <p>— CRU News (@CRUNewsDesk) <a href="https://twitter.com/CRUNewsDesk/status/1463273749583642625?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 23, 2021</a></p> <div><p><img src="https://cryptosrus.com/wp-content/plugins/wp-fastest-cache-premium/pro/images/blank.gif" data-wpfc-original-src="https://cryptosrus.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/BTC-300x169.jpeg" data-wpfc-original-srcset="https://cryptosrus.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/BTC-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cryptosrus.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/BTC-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://cryptosrus.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/BTC-150x84.jpeg 150w, https://cryptosrus.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/BTC-696x392.jpeg 696w, https://cryptosrus.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/BTC-747x420.jpeg 747w, https://cryptosrus.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/BTC-610x343.jpeg 610w, https://cryptosrus.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/BTC.jpeg 960w" alt=" Bitcoin Showing Positive Momentum"></p></div> <p>It’s not every day a perennial top 10 cryptocurrency gets delisted from an exchange, <a href="https://cryptosrus.com/charles-hoskinson-responds-to-cardano-etoro-delisting/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">so it was a shock to many to see Cardano delisted from eToro</a> — even Charles Hoskinson himself. Hoskinson took to YouTube to say the news blindsided him. Apparently, eToro had not discussed their concerns with them.</p> <p>Ultimately, the delisting was not that significant for Cardano — eToro is a relatively small exchange. But it came during a transition phase for Cardano. The news didn’t make it easy for the smart contract protocol’s various developers grappling with Plutus to deliver working products to users.</p> <h2>3. SundaeSwap Testnet Goes Live</h2> <p>The story of Cardano hate is a story of Cardano FUD. Specifically, it’s about the ever-changing nature of said FUD.</p> <p>First, it was “wen” smart contracts. When those came, it became “wen” concurrency. One of the perceived issues following the smart contract upgrade was that Cardano would never develop a working DEX. Just a few months after smart contracts officially launched, <a href="https://cryptosrus.com/heres-the-latest-on-sundaeswap-testnet-live/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">SundaeSwap, a decentralized exchange on Cardano, got one step closer</a> to moving the goalposts for all the FUDers.</p> <p>Recommended: <a href="https://cryptosrus.com/three-upcoming-dexs-on-cardano-to-keep-on-your-radar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Three Upcoming DEXs On Cardano To Keep On Your Radar</a></p> <h2>2. Mary Upgrade</h2> <p>Ultimately the <a href="https://decrypt.co/59809/cardano-mary-upgrade-set-to-go-live-heres-why-it-matters">Mary Upgrade didn’t give the network all that much to work with</a>. Sure it brought the ability for users to create their own tokens, which resulted in the first NFTs on the platform — resulting in the successful Cardanokidz. But ultimately, the Mary upgrade’s place on this list has more to do with the hype.</p> <p>Arriving in February, the Mary upgrade led to a rapid rise from the protocol, which I outlined earlier. Thanks to the positive price action, the crypto world was abuzz. Even celebrities like Nick Carter and Gene Simmons got in on the Cardano love.</p> <p>Ultimately the upgrade set a new floor for Cardano.</p> <h2>1. Smart Contracts</h2> <p>Was there any suspense for this one? Like, even a little bit? Nope.</p> <p>Obviously, <a href="https://cryptosrus.com/its-official-cardano-smart-contracts-launch-date-announced/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">smart contracts arriving for a smart contract</a> protocol is pretty much a very big deal. For most other protocols, though, the arrival of something so fundamental wasn’t that big of a deal. But for Cardano, it was thanks to the years and years of delays.</p> <p>The <a href="https://cryptosrus.com/ada-soars-to-all-time-high-ahead-of-smart-contracts/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">upgrade led to some crazy price action</a>, including an all-time high of $3.10 back on September 2nd. It’s since leveled out. But with SundaeSwap and various other projects making significant inroads since the upgrade, the future looks bright for the Charles Hoskinson-led project.</p> <p>***</p> <p>That’s it. That’s the list. Let us know if you disagree with any of our choices.</p> </div>