Market commentator Lark Davis says Cardano’s strong social following could eventually help ADA return to $1 and potentially extend toward $1.50 or $2, despite his increasingly critical stance on the network throughout 2026.
Discussing Cardano’s social dominance, Davis said ADA has enough of a “cult following” that ADA probably gets back to $1, adding that it could potentially reach $1.50 or $2.
The comment stands out because Davis has spent much of 2026 questioning Cardano’s usage, valuation, and competitiveness against other networks.
ADA currently trades around $0.242, with a market cap of approximately $8.88 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.
What $1, $1.50 and $2 Would Mean for ADA
From $0.242, a recovery to $1 would require ADA to rise about 313%. Reaching $1.50 would represent an increase of roughly 520%, while a move to $2 would require an advance of around 726%.
Cardano currently has approximately 36.78 billion ADA in circulation. Assuming that supply remained unchanged, those price levels would imply market caps of roughly $36.8 billion at $1, $55.2 billion at $1.50, and $73.6 billion at $2.
Davis did not attach a deadline to the targets. His argument centered on Cardano’s community and social presence rather than a specific technical setup.
Davis Has Been Much More Critical of Cardano in 2026
The latest price comments contrast with several of Davis’s remarks this year.
In June, he argued that Cardano’s “fair value” based on usage was only around $50 million to $100 million.
His criticism continued in July. Davis compared Cardano with Solana, highlighting the gap in transactions and app fees.
In one comparison, he said another major chain was processing around 10 million transactions per day compared with roughly 30,000 for Cardano.
Later that month, he pointed to Cardano’s multi-billion-dollar valuation while arguing that its apps generated only thousands of dollars in daily fees compared with millions on Solana.
He also highlighted whale positioning. In late July, Davis noted that large holders controlled around 25.1 billion ADA, which he described as the highest concentration since July 2020, despite a roughly 70% price decline and weak network metrics.
In August, however, he acknowledged how far market sentiment can push ADA valuations, pointing out that Cardano had previously reached roughly a $100 billion market cap before smart contracts were live.
By September, his criticism had become more direct. Responding to continued confidence in Charles Hoskinson and Cardano’s roadmap, Davis called the ecosystem a “ghost town” and questioned why eight years of development had not translated into stronger on-chain activity.
He also argued that other networks had expanded much faster while Cardano focused on governance. The Crypto Basic previously covered those remarks.
His Cardano Position Was More Mixed Before 2026
Davis has not always taken such a negative view.
In 2021, he described Cardano’s community as one of its greatest strengths, although he also argued that ADA’s high market ranking was already pricing in considerable future growth compared with networks showing greater on-chain activity.
In January 2022, Davis disclosed that he had sold his ADA holdings during 2021 for substantial profits before asking whether it was time to buy back.
Around the same period, he argued that Cardano had missed much of the venture-capital funding flowing into competing chains but retained unusually strong retail support, which he viewed as potentially beneficial over the long term. He was also watching Cardano projects Ardana and SundaeSwap.
By July 2022, his focus included the Vasil upgrade and Hydra as important upcoming developments.
In March 2024, Davis questioned whether Cardano was being overlooked during that market cycle, pointing to DeFi TVL near $600 million and then-record ecosystem levels.
His posts became more mixed again afterward. He published versions of the question “Is Cardano ADA dead?” in September 2024 and November 2025, while other posts remained constructive.
In February 2025, he posted that “Wall Street Money is Coming For Your ADA Bags.” Then, in August 2025, he highlighted an ADA resistance breakout and a 9/21 moving-average golden cross, noting that a previous occurrence had preceded a 236% rally.
The following month, Davis shared Hoskinson’s description of ADA as the “best performing asset of all time” while asking followers for their views.
By March 2026, his language had become more mocking, before shifting into the much more detailed usage and valuation criticism seen from June onward.
Social Strength and Network Usage Present Two Different Arguments
Davis’s latest $1-$2 comment does not necessarily reverse his criticism of Cardano’s network metrics.
Instead, it separates ADA’s potential market performance from Cardano’s current usage. His 2026 criticism has largely focused on transactions, fees, DeFi adoption, governance and relative activity against networks such as Solana.
The latest remark focuses on Cardano’s ability to maintain attention and a large community even after major price declines.
At roughly $0.242 today, ADA remains more than 92% below its September 2021 all-time high of $3.10.
A return to Davis’s $1-$2 range would therefore represent a substantial recovery, but would still leave ADA below its previous record. With no timeframe attached to the call, the levels remain long-term price scenarios rather than near-term targets.