Is Cardano the Most Overvalued Crypto Project? Analysts Debate as ADA Dumps

Cardano’s development began just over a decade ago, but it took a couple of years for the actual launch. Arguably, the even more important release of smart contracts, though, came in 2021 after the highly debated Alonzo upgrade.

Its native token has become a fan favorite among many crypto investors, but there are also a substantial number of doubters and critics.

Most Overvalued Network?

Satoshi Flipper, one of the most recognizable names on Crypto X with over 240,000 followers, shared another analyst’s viewpoint on the Charles Hoskinson-founded network with the caption, “Is Cardano the most overvalued blockchain on the planet?”

The underlying analysis questions the performance of the blockchain. It cited a DeFi total value locked (TVL) number of just $128 million, which is exactly what DeFiLlama shows as of press time, as well as 24-hour DEX trading volume of just $1.3 million, $26 million worth of stablecoins on top of it, and approximately 17k active addresses.

Eye Zen Hour described this as an “incredibly small on-chain economy relative to valuation.” The valuation itself is a $9 billion market cap for Cardano’s native token, which, despite its massive decline since its peak (to be discussed later), is still a top 15 altcoin by that metric.

Consequently, Zen Hour concluded that the market will eventually have to make an important decision on Cardano and ADA, whether it’s valuing an ecosystem or “just a memory from prior cycles.”

Cardano has a $9B market cap

I’m not joking when I say I don’t know a single real person active on Cardano. I don’t know many holding $ADA

The chain’s numbers are a bit scary:

TVL: $128M
24H DEX vol: $1.3M
Stablecoins: $26M
~17K active addresses

That’s an incredibly… pic.twitter.com/BWhn3fzQzZ

— eye zen hour 🥶 (@eyezenhour) May 23, 2026

ADA’s Memory From Past Cycles

The aforementioned Alonzo update coincided with ADA’s most impressive price surge in Q3, 2021. At the time, the token was riding high alongside the rest of the market and charted a new all-time high of just over $3. However, it turned out to be a classic sell-the-news event, and ADA has been unable to recapture its former glory.