Cardano Surges to 5-Month High While Bitcoin and Ethereum Approach All-Time Highs

In Brief

• Cardano’s ADA has surged double digits within the day, marking a five-month high and emerging as a notable winner in the market.
• This increase coincides with Bitcoin reaching a new all-time high on Wednesday, while Ethereum is rapidly approaching its own peak.
• Predictors at Myriad forecast that Ethereum is highly likely to set a new all-time high this year, with estimates suggesting it could reach $5,000.

Cardano’s Dramatic Rise

Cardano has experienced a remarkable jump of 10.7% in the past 24 hours, temporarily breaking the $1 barrier. This accomplishment represents a five-month high for the cryptocurrency. Meanwhile, Bitcoin hit a new all-time high on Wednesday, and Ethereum is close to achieving its own record, currently just 3.6% shy of its peak.

Despite the recent uptrends in Bitcoin and Ethereum, the broader crypto market is displaying relatively flat trading patterns. Among the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, Cardano’s ADA stands out as the top performer in the last 24 hours and ranks as the fifth-largest gainer over the past week, according to data from CoinGecko.

Impact of the Glacier Drop Airdrop

Last week marked the initiation of the Glacier Drop, a two-month-long airdrop distributing NIGHT tokens across eight blockchains, including Cardano. However, users of the Ledger hardware wallet faced challenges redeeming their airdrop due to a software glitch. Thankfully, the Midnight Foundation promptly provided a workaround that allowed Cardano users on Ledger to claim their airdrop tokens.

With the airdrop issues resolved, Cardano has seen an impressive increase of 26.8% in the last week, propelling it into the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, surpassing Justin Sun’s TRON.

Among the eight blockchains participating in the Glacier Drop, Cardano has emerged as the week’s biggest winner. Ethereum closely follows, having soared by 23.5% as it approaches a new all-time high.

Predictions for Ethereum

Market experts at Myriad suggest nearly a sure bet that Ethereum will set a new all-time high by year’s end, with an estimated 86% chance of it reaching $5,000 before 2023 concludes.

(Disclosure: Myriad is a prediction market developed by Decrypt‘s parent company DASTAN.)

“Currently, around 97% of ETH holders find themselves in a profitable position, which may trigger some profit-taking,” Kevin Rusher, founder of the borrowing and lending ecosystem RAAC, remarked in a note shared with Decrypt. “But concerning whether ETH will reach $6,000, I believe it will happen, and those who missed the opportunity when it was priced around $300 may be left feeling regretful, similar to someone who chose to go to Papa John’s instead of investing in Bitcoin.”

Overall Market Movements

On the broader scale, Bitcoin has increased by 3.9% this week, setting a new peak of $124,128 on Wednesday. Additionally, Solana has climbed by 17.1%, and BNB rose by 10.8%. Outside the context of the Glacier Drop, OKX’s native token, OKB, has experienced an astonishing increase of over 128% this week following announcements regarding supply slashing.

In a more volatile session, roughly $245 million worth of crypto short positions and $235 million in long positions were liquidated over the past day, creating a total of $481 million in liquidations, according to data from CoinGlass.