ADA Orca, the lead developer of the SNEK meme coin and founder of Orca Labs, has highlighted a concerning trend in the Cardano ecosystem.
He pointed out what he described as the “most heart-breaking Cardano chart of all” in his Thursday tweet. Specifically, it showed a consistent decline in the unique wallets trading on Cardano since December 2024.
Dev Raises Cardano User Decline Concerns
His shared chart shows that the number of unique wallets on the Cardano ecosystem stands at just 1,000 addresses as of October 6, an over 87.5% decline from its peak above 8,000 late last year. For context, unique wallets show the total number of unique addresses interacting with a network over a specified timeframe.
During the Donald Trump-spurred rally between November and December 2024, the unique wallets trading on the Cardano network grew exponentially. It moved from under 2,000 in October to a peak of over 8,000, according to the chart.
However, things have turned south since then, with the number of addresses trading on Cardano continuing to decline. This metric dropped below 4,000 in February, and while it briefly reclaimed the level in March, it has trended even lower.
The downtrend suggests a shift in trading interest among market participants from Cardano, possibly to other chains. Notably, the number of unique users typically affects volume, helps generate network fees, and consequently impacts the price of the assets domiciled in the blockchain.
Unsustained Cardano Hype
Meanwhile, ADA Orca noted that several projects made efforts to revive user traction to the Cardano network, but none have had a lasting impact. He tied the spike in unique wallets in December 2024 to projects like Charles the Chad (CHAD), Agentic T (AGENT), and SUGR Token (SUGR).
The Cock Coin (COCK) hype in January also attracted users to Cardano. Notably, the coin surged to become the third-largest meme coin in the Cardano ecosystem in February, following its rapid price growth a month earlier.
However, the buzz quickly faded, and users have slowly exited the Cardano ecosystem for other chains with stronger narratives. “After that, it’s down only,” he noted.
Divided Cardano Ecosystem?
Meanwhile, some suggest that Cardano’s user woes have come from its internal crisis. Founder Charles Hoskinson has persistently been at loggerheads with a faction of the community, as some enthusiasts claim he is part of the network’s problem.
A recent feud with the SNEK community over exchange listing funding saw a user, Federico, claim that the Snek meme coin has contributed more to the ecosystem than Midnight. He contended that Cardano would be nothing without SNEK, citing its position as the largest Cardano-native token.
This came after Hoskinson disagreed on funding SNEK’s listing on exchanges using the ecosystem treasury. His disposition raised comments that the ecosystem has failed to promote its own, which typically fuels the lack of traction.
Nonetheless, Hoskinson recently stated that everything is getting better in the Cardano ecosystem. He had also claimed that Cardano is going to break the internet, insisting it is sound money.
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