Cardano (ADA) Shines as Cryptocurrency Market Starts the Year with $150B Surge

The cryptocurrency market started the year with remarkable momentum, witnessing a surge in market capitalization exceeding $150 billion within the past 24 hours.

The cryptocurrency market has seen a remarkable start to the year, witnessing a surge in market capitalization exceeding $150 billion within the past 24 hours, according to data from CoinGecko.

Among the top digital assets, Cardano’s ADA was a standout performer, rising over 11% to now trade at $0.966. The cryptocurrency started the year at around $0.846, showing a significant ADA price rise of over 14%.

Its market capitalization has surged to $33.93 billion, solidifying ADA’s position as the ninth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap. The cryptocurrency’s recent price rise came amid a wider bullish trend in the cryptocurrency space and, according to CoinGlass data, after more than a week of significant consecutive outflows from cryptocurrency exchanges, including a $12.5 million outflow on the first day of the year.

These outflows follow a period of large outflows in December, which ultimately saw a total outflow of around $220 million from major centralized cryptocurrency exchanges. Significant outflows from exchanges suggest that supply available on the market is dropping, which, coupled with steady or rising demand, could lead to a price rise.

It’s worth noting that CoinGlass data shows exchanges saw a $14.7 million inflow on Jan 2. Meanwhile, the total derivatives market saw a $210 million outflow over the past 24 hours, with long liquidations amounting to $63.33 million and short liquidations reaching $50.13 million.

Today’s significant surge in the cryptocurrency market can largely be attributed to the anticipated establishment of a more favorable regulatory environment under President-elect Donald Trump. Policy shifts, such as the potential creation of a strategic Bitcoin reserve and the appointment of Paul Atkins as head of the SEC, have instilled confidence among investors.

Cardano, on the other hand, is preparing for the upcoming Plomin hard fork, which is set to occur at epoch 529, with the earliest possible enactment date for it being on Jan. 4. The hard fork will introduce several new capabilities to the Cardano protocol.

As previously reported by CryptoSlate, the Plomin hard fork builds upon the foundation laid out by the Chang 1 hard fork back in September and will empower ADA token holders to directly participate in the future of the protocol through its governance system.

By delegating their voting power to Delegated Representatives (DReps) or assuming the role of DReps, ADA token holders will be able to vote on-chain. Proposals that garner sufficient support will then be integrated into the protocol.

This marks a significant milestone in Cardano’s evolution toward decentralized governance, enabling the community to play an active role in shaping the protocol’s development.

Apart from governance, the recent upgrade ahead of the hard fork introduces various technical enhancements, including new Plutus primitives for improved smart contract functionality, as well as better support for Stake Pool Operators.