Cardano’s Rally Hits On-Chain Slump Amid Chainlink Delay
Cardano’s ADA price rallied 40% in Q3, climbing from $0.57 to a peak of $0.96, yet core on-chain metrics remain stagnant. Daily active addresses plunged nearly 100%, and TVL has halved from its $721 million high. This divergence, coupled with derivatives volatility—open interest spiked to $1.87 billion in mid-August before retreating—keeps ADA trapped below key resistance levels.
Cardano’s unique Ouroboros protocol and Plutus language complicate integration with Chainlink oracles, leading to higher development costs and delays. Founder Charles Hoskinson highlighted Chainlink’s steep integration fees, leaving DeFi projects short of reliable price feeds. Meanwhile, Ethereum leveraged Chainlink data to add almost $10 billion TVL in August, widening the gap with Cardano.
For Cardano to sustain momentum into Q4, a streamlined Chainlink integration is critical to boosting on-chain activity and DeFi growth.
Bearish
Despite ADA’s strong price rally in Q3, the sharp decline in on-chain metrics and delayed Chainlink integration signal weakening fundamentals. Similar to past scenarios where oracle delays hampered DeFi expansion, Cardano’s inability to secure reliable data feeds risks further TVL outflows and price consolidation. In the short term, traders may see increased volatility around resistance levels and potential pullbacks if integration stalls. Over the long term, timely Chainlink integration could reverse the bearish trend by unlocking DeFi growth, but until then, market sentiment remains cautious. This combination of on-chain stagnation and technical hurdles justifies a bearish outlook.