Programmable Blockchain Cardano's ADA Token Jumps 12% to Lead Gains Among Crypto Majors

ADA crossed $1, a three-week high, as BTC, ether (ETH), Solana's SOL and dogecoin (DOGE) added under 2%.

Programmable blockchain Cardano’s ADA token led gains among major cryptocurrencies on Wednesday, rising 12% in the past 24 hours, while rangebound bitcoin price action influenced the broader market.

ADA crossed the $1 mark, hitting a three-week high, as bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH), Solana’s SOL and dogecoin (DOGE) added less than 2% each. The CoinDesk 20 (CD20) broad-based index, which tracks the largest digital assets by market capitalization, rose 1.57%.

Traders expect bitcoin’s price range to hold until late January, with gains expected from February onward as President-elect Donald Trump takes office, according to a previous CoinDesk analysis.

ADA’s gains came without any immediate catalyst, but the protocol is set to see several fundamental developments in the coming months. These include a bitcoin-centric decentralized financial ecosystem and ongoing efforts to improve Cardano’s scalability, network performance and interoperability with other networks.

Further gains of up to 30% are suggested by price-chart analysis.

“ADA's three-day rise has lifted prices above a trendline characterizing the four-week pullback from early December highs,” said CoinDesk analyst Omkar Godbole. “The breakout and a renewed bullish crossover on the momentum indicator MACD suggest the potential for a re-test of the Dec. 3 high of $1.32.”

“The widely-tracked 14-day RSI is looking to cut through a descending trendline, validating the bullish price action,” Godbole added.

In technical analysis, MACD (Moving Average Convergence Divergence) indicates momentum using average prices over a period, with a bullish crossover suggesting a potential price increase. RSI (Relative Strength Index) measures the speed and change of price movements; and cutting through a trendline suggests continued upward movement.