Cardano, a proof-of-stake blockchain network, has experienced significant growth in Q1 2023, according to a report from crypto analytics platform Messari. The report highlights several key developments, including nearly tripled Total Value Locked (TVL) in decentralized finance (DeFi), expansion of programming language support, and deployment of Layer-2 scaling solutions on the Cardano mainnet.

One of the notable achievements of Cardano in Q1 2023 is the growth of DeFi TVL, which increased by 172% quarterly, from $50.8 million in Q4 2022 to $138.3 million at the end of Q1. Additionally, stablecoin volume on the network saw a significant increase of 261% from $2.8 million in Q4 to $10 million at the end of Q1, with the largest volumes coming from Indigo’s IUSD and Djed’s DJED. However, major DEXs such as Minswap, SundaeSwap, and WingRiders experienced a decline in dominance due to increased interest in new protocols.

Cardano’s native token, ADA, also saw a price increase of 54% in Q1, with a price of $0.44 as of April 18, 2023. The platform’s treasury balance grew by 100 million ADA to 1.21 billion, with a 9.1% and 66% QoQ growth in ADA and USD terms, respectively. The treasury balance also increased by $278 million to $460 million in USD terms.

Despite the overall growth, Cardano experienced declines in new addresses (up 71.5%) and average daily transactions (up 10.6%) in Q1. Daily NFT transactions on the network also fell, down 27%, as daily unique buyers shrunk by 23%.

In addition to the Messari report, the Cardano Foundation issued its inaugural Annual Report, outlining the project’s accomplishments in 2022. The Foundation revised its delegation policy to reward stake pool operators (SPOs) that provide Cardano-building tools to the community. It also aligned the Cardano Improvement Proposals (CIPs) process with optimal open-source principles.

Meanwhile, in the crypto community, there is speculation about the price of Dogecoin (DOGE) receiving a pump on April 20, which has historically happened in previous years. Many believe that Elon Musk, known as the “Dogefather” for his influential role in the DOGE community, has been behind these price pumps as a satirical reference to one of his appearances on The Joe Rogan Experience, where he smoked weed.

At press time, the price of DOGE stands at $0.09299, with a 24-hour gain of around 0.03% and a positive weekly performance of +13.59%. DOGE was able to gain 1.30% against Ethereum (ETH) over the last 24 hours but was down 1.25% against Bitcoin (BTC). The price of DOGE is currently trading near its 24-hour low of $0.09195, with its daily high at $0.09449.

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