Cardano (ADA), a prominent smart contract-focused cryptocurrency, has demonstrated a remarkable recovery, marking a significant shift in its market trend. Since the end of the 2021 bull run, ADA has been experiencing a bearish trend. However, closing the fourth quarter of 2023, it has shown a bullish outlook, registering an impressive gain of over 170%.

The renewed interest in ADA’s value can be mainly credited to growing liquidity and increased trading on both centralized and decentralized financial (DeFi) platforms. Notably, the open interest in ADA has risen sharply, moving from under $100 million in October to over $300 million recently.

Ambitions Run High

Cardano’s goal to challenge Ethereum’s leading position in the DeFi sector is gaining momentum. By emphasizing the broader adoption of smart contracts, Cardano has secured a Total Value Locked (TVL) of approximately $424 million. Although this is a significant achievement, it still trails behind Ethereum’s impressive $29.9 billion.

The rising popularity of Cardano’s DeFi protocols and meme coins, especially Snek (SNEK), has sparked discussions within the crypto community.

ADA’s Potential Growth and Technical Analysis

Looking at ADA’s short-term price trends, technical experts are optimistic. The daily chart shows an ascending triangle pattern, indicating potential bullish movement. Captain Faibik, a respected crypto analyst on the X platform, suggests that if ADA can close above this pattern’s upper boundary, it might aim for the 80-cent level.

Further supporting this positive view is ADA’s weekly Relative Strength Index (RSI), which has surpassed the key level of 70 for the first time since 2021. Additionally, analyzing ADA’s weekly chart using the Elliott wave theory suggests that the cryptocurrency is setting up for a third bullish phase, possibly similar to Bitcoin’s past performance. Considering these technical insights and the evolving market conditions, ADA’s future looks promising for many in the crypto space.