Is Cardano the Most Overvalued Crypto Project? Analysts Debate as ADA Dumps

These comments came as ADA has fallen firmly out of the top 10 alts by market cap after a massive plunge since its ATH.

Cardano’s development began just over a decade ago, but it took a couple of years for the actual launch. Arguably, the even more important release of smart contracts, though, came in 2021 after the highly debated Alonzo upgrade.

Its native token has become a fan favorite among many crypto investors, but there are also a substantial number of doubters and critics.

Most Overvalued Network?

Satoshi Flipper, one of the most recognizable names on Crypto X with over 240,000 followers, shared another analyst’s viewpoint on the Charles Hoskinson-founded network with the caption, “Is Cardano the most overvalued blockchain on the planet?”

The underlying analysis questions the performance of the blockchain. It cited a DeFi total value locked (TVL) number of just $128 million, which is exactly what DeFiLlama shows as of press time, as well as 24-hour DEX trading volume of just $1.3 million, $26 million worth of stablecoins on top of it, and approximately 17k active addresses.

Eye Zen Hour described this as an “incredibly small on-chain economy relative to valuation.” The valuation itself is a $9 billion market cap for Cardano’s native token, which, despite its massive decline since its peak (to be discussed later), is still a top 15 altcoin by that metric.

Consequently, Zen Hour concluded that the market will eventually have to make an important decision on Cardano and ADA, whether it’s valuing an ecosystem or “just a memory from prior cycles.”

Cardano has a $9B market cap

I’m not joking when I say I don’t know a single real person active on Cardano. I don’t know many holding $ADA

The chain’s numbers are a bit scary:
> TVL: $128M
> 24H DEX vol: $1.3M
> Stablecoins: $26M
> ~17K active addresses

That’s an incredibly… pic.twitter.com/BWhn3fzQzZ

— eye zen hour 🥶 (@eyezenhour) May 23, 2026

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ADA’s Memory From Past Cycles

The aforementioned Alonzo update coincided with ADA’s most impressive price surge in Q3, 2021. At the time, the token was riding high alongside the rest of the market and charted a new all-time high of just over $3. However, it turned out to be a classic sell-the-news event, and ADA has been unable to recapture its former glory.

In fact, it hasn’t even come close. During the 2025 market-wide rally, bitcoin, as well as many altcoins, managed to post new peaks. However, ADA’s high was far from its 2021 record as it couldn’t break past $1.3. It currently struggles below $0.25, which represents a mind-blowing decline of over 92% since its 2021 ATH.

Although almost all crypto assets have slumped since last October, ADA’s crash has been more than just a correction, and being 92% away from its record doesn’t sound too promising for its vast community.