Research Summary
- Cardano’s ecosystem saw significant growth in Q2 2023, with stablecoin value up 34.9% QoQ and 382.1% YTD. Indigo Protocol led in stablecoin and synthetic asset issuance.
- TVL (Total Value Locked) dominance shifted towards new projects, with protocols created in the last ~6 months accounting for 47.4% TVL dominance in Q2.
- Cardano moved up from 34th to 21st in TVL ranking across all chains, with a 9.7% QoQ increase and 198.6% YTD growth.
- Average daily dapp transactions were up 49% QoQ, with Minswap having the largest absolute growth.
- DeFi activity rose, with Minswap remaining the liquidity king of Cardano DeFi, ending Q2 with a TVL of $48.8 million and 32.2% dominance.
- Stablecoins grew in both absolute and relative terms, with the total stablecoin market cap growing 34.9% QoQ from $10.0 million to $13.5 million.
- NFT metrics were down QoQ nearly across the board, with average daily NFT transactions down 35.7% QoQ and total quarterly trading volume falling 41.9% QoQ.
- Milkomeda C1, Cardano’s first sidechain, saw a surge in daily unique contract callers and daily total contract calls by 279.9% and 273.2% QoQ, respectively, attributed to the gaming sector.
- Project Catalyst, a decentralized fund for innovative projects in the Cardano ecosystem, continues to grow, with submissions for Fund 10 opened in June, allocating 50 million ADA (~$14 million) to proposals.
Actionable Insights
- Investment Opportunity: The growth in Cardano’s DeFi and stablecoin sectors indicates a strong investment opportunity, especially with the rise of new protocols and the overall increase in TVL.
- Monitoring Required: The decline in NFT metrics and the challenges faced by stablecoin issuers like Indigo and Djed require careful monitoring to understand the long-term trends and potential risks.
- Strategic Engagement: The surge in gaming-related activities on Milkomeda C1 and the ongoing growth of Project Catalyst present opportunities for strategic engagement and collaboration within the Cardano ecosystem.
