Deep Dive on the Trump Reserve Token Whose Blockchain Ignores TVL
Trading volumes for Cardano’s ADA token have recently surged, with daily averages around $720 million in February, and soaring past $1.4 billion in March. This spike is attributed to a social media post from former U.S. President Donald Trump, who included ADA within the nation’s strategic crypto reserve, signaling endorsement to a wider audience.
Originating in late 2017, the Cardano blockchain has quietly established itself as a formidable presence in the crypto landscape, gaining significant attention lately. Currently, the ADA token holds a market cap of $25.6 billion, but the numbers behind the scenes paint an even more compelling picture. Data from Google reveals over 5 million unique wallets and 1.3 million delegates. The network sees thousands of new wallets being created daily.
Total value locked (TVL) on Cardano currently stands at $329 million, though CEO Frederik Gregaard contends that this metric is often overstated within crypto circles. He emphasizes the importance of "non-value transactions," which encompass real-world applications beyond mere financial exchanges, such as minting decentralized IDs, tracking metadata, and documenting verifiable actions. Gregaard has advocated for an environment where 50% of transactions on the Cardano blockchain serve these non-financial purposes.
An instructive example of Cardano’s real-world impact is its partnership with Veritree, which facilitated donations exceeding 1 million ADA tokens aimed at planting 1 million mangrove trees in Kenya, with each transaction comprehensively tracked on the blockchain. Additionally, the recent collaboration with Brazil’s largest state-owned IT firm, SERPRO, positions Cardano at the forefront of accelerating blockchain adoption in South America, streaming 33 billion annual transactions for a substantial portion of Brazil’s federal administration while offering blockchain training to 8,000 employees.
In contrast to peers such as Solana, which has experienced a meteoric rise in TVL—from $2.2 billion to over $10 billion by 2024—Cardano’s journey has been steadier, progressing from $445 million to $537 million in the same timeframe. Cardano’s outlook is characterized by a focus on foundational use cases rather than speculative financial vehicles like NFTs or memecoins.
The burgeoning decentralized finance (DeFi) sector on Cardano reflects this ethos. For instance, Minswap, the platform’s dedicated decentralized exchange (DEX), has recorded a cumulative trading volume of $3.4 billion this month, bolstered by a peak of nearly $271 million in December, as reported by DefiLlama. Lending protocols such as Liqwid, Lenfi, and Optim Finance contribute to a TVL of over $116 million in Cardano’s lending market.
While Gregaard emphasizes projects that fortify Cardano’s mission, he also acknowledges inevitable friction among the blockchain’s three principal entities: the Cardano Foundation, IOG (led by Charles Hoskinson), and Emurgo. This tripartite structure can lead to strategic dissonance. An anonymous community member once claimed that recent initiatives by the Foundation might be efforts to overshadow the other two entities, a sentiment Hoskinson acknowledged while noting the complexities of governance within Cardano.
Yet Gregaard approaches the dynamic with a cooperative mindset, asserting, "There’s no monetary exchange going on between us, but we do work very closely together." This collaboration manifests through joint sponsorships at conferences, distinguishing their operational model from the more centralized treasury management seen in entities like the Ethereum Foundation. He concludes, “We [Cardano Foundation] are the liability umbrella for the community and the blockchain,” emphasizing the vital regulatory and legal responsibilities they undertake within the global financial landscape.
