Critics call Cardano a dead project, others say it is only evolving. It was Charles Hoskinson who responded to this criticism. But with TVL shrinking and user growth slowing, it’s fair to ask: has Cardano lost its way?
In this episode, I’ll examine the data, decisions, and deep forces shaping its future. Because what happens next could determine whether Cardano disappears into history. Or, he’s staging one of the biggest comebacks in crypto.
Cardano TVL
So, the problem with Cardano is the criticism regarding its DeFi usage and TVL numbers. To be clear, they are not good. Now, Charles Hoskinson has come out and defended Cardano. This is what is expected of any CEO or founder. However, it also depends on what he actually mentioned. But first, take a look at my most recent Cardano video here.
Thus, Hoskinson emphasized that the low TVL (Total Value Locked) on Cardano is not primarily a technical limitation. Rather, he points the finger at user behavior and a coordination problem. According to him, many $ADA holders are betting or holding. This, instead of actively using DeFi protocols on Cardano.
For the record, Cardano ranks 26th on this DeFiLlama ranking for TVL among all channels. The current TVL is $244 million. Compared to other L1s, it’s unfortunately not great. Now, Cardano’s TVL at the beginning of January stood at around $653 million. This is 2.6 times more than currently, but we are still far from the billion dollars. Or the $5-10 billion TVL that Hoskinson thinks Cardano can get. In contrast, Sui’s TVL is $1.6 billion and Sui is only 2 years old. Solana’s TVL is $10 billion and Ethereum’s is almost $80 billion.
#Cardano Blames of the founder $ADA Users for DeFi woes: “Our TVL would be a minimum of $5-10 billion.”
Charles Hoskinson, the founder of the Cardano network, highlighted this in his recent podcast, suggesting that Cardano users contribute to the struggles of decentralized finance… pic.twitter.com/Cz6ibXqBqt
– TheCryptoBasic (@thecryptobasic) November 3, 2025
$ADA Staking
So, before we continue, let’s take a closer look at the $ADA staking numbers. Currently, $36.5 billion ADA is in circulation. Of these, Pooltool claims that $21.78 billion is currently staked. This gives a stake percentage of 57%, or approximately $11.5 billion at the current ADA price. Now that’s a good number. However, to put this into perspective, according to Coinbase, the current stake percentage for $SUI is 75%.
Source: Cardano Forum
However, Hoskinson argues that not all $ADA wagered is part of the TVL. Unfortunately, this argument does not hold up. In general, staked native tokens do not count towards TVL. The main purpose of TVL is often to measure assets locked in dApps. This includes the broader DeFi ecosystem built on top of a chain. However, this excludes the base layer consensus mechanism itself.
However, assets locked in liquid staking protocols are generally included in the TVL of that protocol. In other words, these contribute to the overall TVL of a chain’s DeFi ecosystem. For example, Lido for $stETH. So, Ethereum’s DeFi TVL includes Lido’s TVL.
Essentially, staking is a form of “locking” value. However, the type of staking determines its inclusion in the standard “TVL channel” metrics:
- Native consensus staking is usually separate.
- DeFi protocol staking (including liquid staking) is part of TVL.
So here is proof that Hoskinson’s remark that $ADA wagered is not in the TVL misses the mark. The numbers don’t lie and TVL is low, and DeFi on Cardano shows very little activity. So let’s see what Hoskinson and Cardano plan to solve this problem.
What are Cardano’s plans?
The problems are therefore on the table. But what will Cardano and Hoskinson do about them? Because it doesn’t stop there. For example, Hoskinson recognizes certain things. The first is that low network activity impacts partnerships and liquidity. Another issue is that the lack of external integrations further limits on-chain adoption. It almost looks like a catch 22.
Now that governance is progressing very well, this year I will focus deeply on three main themes for Cardano:
1) Bitcoin DeFi on Cardano (the market is 4 times the size of Ethereum and Solana combined)
2) 24/7 work on scalability including Leios
3) Make Cardano a…– Charles Hoskinson (@IOHK_Charles) January 18, 2025
Hoskinson phrased this differently. He mentions that these issues create a “chicken and egg” loop for his ecosystem. So he found solutions. Here are two he recently advocated.
- Connecting Cardano to Bitcoin. He has already mentioned it several times.
- Use real-world loans to attract liquidity.
Welcome to the era of Bitcoin DeFi brought to you by Cardano
– Charles Hoskinson (@IOHK_Charles) May 27, 2025
These two combined should boost Cardano’s DeFi TVL. Another asset is the Midnight Network. This is a privacy-focused sidechain. The midnight drop claim recently ended.
RealFi is another card that Cardano can play. This is a microfinance platform. Its main initiative is to target African markets. Now Midnight and RealFi can integrate with BTCFi on Cardano. As a result, you can lend $ADA and $BTC and convert them to stablecoins. Now you can use them in real lending protocols.
The Leios Upgrade
A major network upgrade is also underway. This is the Leios upgrade. This will introduce a parallel block structure. This means that it allows for different transaction flows rather than a single linear chain.
Leios has made significant progress and grown from an idea to a full CIP, with a dedicated team committed to delivering it by 2026. Bitcoin DeFi has a dedicated team and CEO, and we have already moved assets between chains as a team. In 2026, the complete mainnet alongside…
– Charles Hoskinson (@IOHK_Charles) November 3, 2025
In other words, it should increase the transaction speed of chains. We are even talking about 10,000 TPS (transactions per second). However, this is a theoretical TPS. Currently, Leios has moved from pure research to active engineering. However, no launch schedule is available. Cardano is also well known for its slow but careful pace. This launch could therefore well take place in 2026.
Cardano Founder: Leios to Deliver 65x Scaling in 12-18 Months pic.twitter.com/Ng2uzJe3vx
– Cardano Feed ($ADA) (@CardanoFeed) October 11, 2025
Please note, however, that launching Leios does not guarantee a better user experience. Other factors also play a role in this. Think about ecosystem adoption, use of DeFi, protocol integration, or sidechains like Midnight. They all play a role in this story.
You should also not immediately expect 10,000 TPS. This is an engineering objective and not a guarantee of live network performance. The advantage in terms of speed is real; however, this will likely be gradual. Don’t expect an overnight “flip switch and instant 10,000 TPS makeover” transformation.
Current Status of Cardano
So overall, the current DeFi state of Cardano is not great. However, Hoskinson recognizes this and is working on solutions. Knowing Cardano’s style of operation, it could take some time for all the pieces to fall into place. So from this perspective, ADA’s current price of around 53 cents can be a great entry point. The question is: Can Hoskinson inspire the Cardano crowd to become active DeFi users? Can he stop Cardano from becoming a dead chain?
So it seems that Cardano is not dead, but it is in a transition phase. TVL and DeFi activity is undeniably low. However, the core infrastructure, user base, and development pipeline remain strong. Hoskinson’s solutions require adoption and coordination, not just technology. If liquidity and real usage returns, Cardano still has room to recover and scale.
What is your view on this? Do you think Cardano has the power to make another turnaround? Can Hoskinson pull something out of his hat to make the channel livelier? Let me know in the comments and join our lively discussions on X and Discord.
Disclaimer
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