Cardano's Comeback Hinges on Technical and Trust Milestones
Cardano's (ADA) price has been stuck in a one-way story for almost a year, but Meta AI predicts it could have a strange comeback by the end of 2026.
The prediction suggests that Cardano would need to more than triple from its current price to reach the levels it traded at last autumn. The model's base case is $0.68, with a wider range of $0.55 to $0.85 for the end of 2026.
The key to this potential comeback lies in two areas: technical and trust. Cardano's Ouroboros Leios aims to increase Layer 1 throughput by 10-65 times, with mainnet block production scheduled for November 2026. This would push Cardano towards 1,000 or more transactions per second.
The other overhang is trust, which has been a major issue for Cardano in recent months. The mid-August IOG treasury audit release addressed $600 million in allegations, with early leaks showing 99.2% voucher redemption. Funding is also moving alongside the upgrade, with the launch of a 2.5 million ADA Catalyst Pilot Fund aimed at scaling projects.
However, there is still a bear case to consider. If Leios slips to 2027 or the audit disappoints, ADA could retest $0.16 to $0.19.