The Growth of Smart Contracts on Cardano
The Cardano (ADA) network is making significant progress in the deployment of smart contracts, which is a crucial step towards competing with established platforms like Ethereum (ETH). According to data from Cardano Blockchain Insights, the cumulative number of V1 and V2 Plutus smart contracts on Cardano reached 24,050 as of January 24. This reflects a growth of 67% since January 1, 2024.
This growth builds upon the expansion seen in 2023, where nearly 10,000 contracts were added due to increased development activity. The surge in smart contracts aligns with the recent implementation of common subexpression elimination (CSE) for Untyped Plutus Core, which has resulted in notable improvements in costs and sizes of scripts.
Increased Development Activity on Cardano
Alongside the growth in smart contracts, data from Cardano builder Input Output Global (IOG) shows that there have been 157 projects launched and 1,319 projects actively being developed on Cardano as of the week ending January 19. Additionally, Cardano has seen multiple releases since the beginning of 2024, including Marlowe and the first Hydra release of the year.
Cardano Price Analysis
Despite the progress in network development, the price of ADA is influenced by the general market trajectory. Currently valued at $0.47, ADA has shown daily gains of about 0.6%. However, on a weekly basis, the token is down by 10%. ADA faces support at the $0.45 level and $0.50 remains a key resistance zone.
Hot Take: Cardano’s Growing Smart Contract Ecosystem
The continued growth in the deployment of smart contracts on the Cardano network is a significant milestone for the platform. With over 24,000 Plutus contracts in existence, Cardano is steadily establishing itself as a viable competitor to Ethereum. The recent implementation of common subexpression elimination (CSE) has further enhanced the efficiency and effectiveness of the smart contract ecosystem on Cardano.
Furthermore, the high number of projects being launched and actively developed on Cardano demonstrates the strong interest and confidence in the platform’s capabilities. Despite market fluctuations impacting ADA’s price, the overall development progress indicates a promising future for Cardano and its smart contract functionality.