Adoption is an essential growth driver for projects that aim to provide a platform on which developers can create and roll out decentralized projects. Cardano is one of the major projects whose roadmap highlights such endeavors but it has been receiving a lot of criticism mainly due to lack of smart contract support. However, that has not stopped the project from onboarding developers as it prepares to roll out smart contract support in the next few months.

Cardano’s founder Charles Hoskinson recently released a video in which he addressed some of the criticisms that he has received especially regarding a 2020 tweet about targeted adoption. He predicted in the tweet that Cardano would have hundreds of assets in roughly a year and true to his word, thousands of NFTs worth millions of dollars have been launched through the network.

Hoskinson also noted that there are potentially hundreds of DeFi projects that are prepared to launch on Cardano and that more than 1,500 developers have been trained. Cardano’s Alonzo Blue testnet has so far been successful and the project is currently working towards transitioning to the Alonzo White testnet. The latter is one of the most critical stages of Cardano’s roadmap because it will usher in smart contracts, which are an essential component of facilitating DeFi applications.

The lack of smart contracts has also been the main limitation preventing Cardano from unlocking its full potential. The price of ADA has subsequently been subdued. However, the price did manage to 10X compared to its price at around the same time last year. However, it could still have some potential upside especially when the smart contracts are rolled out.

ADA is currently trading at $1.18 after a 4.83% price slide in the last 24 hours and 10.67% in the last 7 days at the time of this press.

 Source: Binance

What opportunities will arise with Cardano smart contracts?

Smart contracts will finally make Cardano one of the most attractive networks on which DeFi projects can launch their platforms. This is because Cardano already has significantly lower transaction fees than its rival Ethereum and also boasts a high TPS. An influx of projects running on the Cardano network will result in higher demand for ADA which those projects will use to pay for fees and potentially transactions on their platforms.

While higher demand could potentially allow ADA to reach new highs, its high circulating supply means it has a lower price ceiling. However, the biggest beneficiaries will arguably be those staking on the Cardano blockchain because they will earn rewards from transaction fees on the network. Hoskinson noted that Cardano is the leading network in terms of staking. ADA’s currently low price still provides an opportunity for those interested in staking to purchase it while it is still in an affordable price range, after which they can stake it to earn passive income.

Cardano’s smart contract integration was expected to happen by now and delays have trigged anxiety and impatience in investors. However, note that this is one of the most legitimate crypto projects out there considering its focus on a scientific approach to verifying any developments in its ecosystem. Hoskinson and his team of developers have been tirelessly working to ensure that everything goes right and this might explain why they want to take their time rather than rushing things.

Conclusion

Hoskinson’s recent video post is enough confirmation that the project is still on the right track and that it is already experiencing healthy demand. He also assured the community that the smart contract rollout is drawing closer, which means it is only a matter of time until the project kicks into high gear.