The Great ADA Heist: Uncovering the Secrets of Cardano’s Trump Reserve Token

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“The Great ADA Heist: Uncovering the Secrets of Cardano‘s Trump Reserve Token”

The Great ADA Heist: Uncovering the Secrets of Cardano’s Trump Reserve Token

What to know, my dear:

  • Frederik Gregaard, the CEO of the Cardano Foundation, is a man of discerning taste, measuring real-world use cases as an adoption metric and aiming for fewer than 50% of on-chain “value transactions.” How quaint.
  • Cardano’s ADA token was mentioned by U.S. president Donald Trump as one of the tokens that would make up the nation’s crypto reserve. One wonders if he’s been reading his Oscar Wilde.
  • Gregaard also explained the financial relationship between the Cardano Foundation, Emurgo, and Charles Hoskinson’s IOG. Ah, the intrigue!

Trading volumes for Cardano’s ADA token have exploded of late, with daily figures averaging around $720 million in February and exceeding an average of $1.4 billion in March. One can only assume that the Trump endorsement has something to do with it.

This rise was spurred by a social media post by U.S. President Donald Trump, who mentioned ADA as one of the tokens that would be included in the nation’s strategic crypto reserve. One can only imagine the looks on the faces of his advisors.

Although Cardano is enjoying its moment of mainstream attention, the layer-1 blockchain has been quietly emerging as a crypto juggernaut since it went live in late 2017. Ah, the quiet confidence of the underdog.

Adoption metrics, darling:

The ADA token has a market cap of $25.6 billion, but what’s more notable is what’s under the hood; data from Google shows that the Cardano blockchain has more than 5 million unique wallets and 1.3 million delegators, with thousands of new wallets being created per day. One can only assume that the users are all secretly sipping champagne.

The blockchain also has $329 million in total value locked (TVL), although Cardano Foundation CEO Frederik Gregaard believes that metric is overemphasized by crypto communities. Ah, the rebel spirit.

Instead, he points to “non-value transactions” associated with people conducting real-world – albeit non-financial – activities on blockchain rails: Minting a decentralized ID, tracking metadata, recording documents, that sort of thing. One can only imagine the excitement.

“I’m fighting to ensure that 50% of the activity is a non-value transaction,” Gregaard told CoinDesk. One can only assume that he’s a glutton for punishment.

One example of this is Cardano’s partnership with Veritree, which saw the Cardano community donate over 1 million ADA tokens to plant 1 million mangrove trees in Kenya, with each donation verified and tracked on the blockchain. Ah, the philanthropy of the crypto crowd.

Last week, the Cardano Foundation also announced a deal with SERPRO — Brazil’s largest state-owned IT company – to accelerate blockchain adoption in South America. SERPRO processes 33 billion transactions annually for 90% of Brazil’s federal administration. One can only assume that the employees will be sipping caipirinhas.

Cardano’s perspective differs from the likes of Solana and the slew of layer-2 networks like Base that pride themselves on total value locked (TVL) and hype-driven movements like memecoins and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Ah, the rebels.

DeFi on Cardano, my dear:

Whilst Cardano Foundation’s CEO said his focus is on real-world use cases, the blockchain still boasts a bustling DeFi ecosystem under the surface.

Minswap is Cardano’s native decentralized exchange (DEX). Its cumulative trading volume hit $3.4 billion this month with December alone notching a near-record $271 million, DefiLlama data shows. One can only assume that the traders are having the time of their lives.

There are also a number of lending protocols including Liqwid, Lenfi and Optim Finance, with TVL across Cardano’s lending sector exceeding $116 million. Ah, the thrill of it all.

But the key part of Gregaard’s mission, he insists, is not to exceed that 50% level for financialized transactions. He sees it as staying in line with the Cardano Foundation’s non-profit ethos, even if it limits potential exponential growth of hype-fueled movements like memecoins. Ah, the noble spirit.

Cardano Foundation vs Hoskinson vs Emurgo, darling:

Fulfilling that ethos has its own challenges, mostly because the blockchain is run by three main entities: the Cardano Foundation, Charles Hoskinson’s IOG, and Emurgo. The latter two are commercial businesses, which can cause friction between them and the foundation. Ah, the drama.

“The intent of having a non-profit was that you can optimize decision-making based on 10 years, it’s different than if you optimize decision-making tomorrow,” Gregaard added. One can only assume that he’s a man of great patience.

Some of the friction was highlighted by an anonymous Cardano community member in December, who penned an email on a path forward and detailed how the entities running Cardano were at loggerheads. Ah, the intrigue!

“CF’s recent burst of activity is part of a larger strategic play—an attempt to undermine Charles, IOG, Intersect, and the broader governance roadmap,” the email read. One can only assume that the author is a master of intrigue.

“It’s been a long and difficult road, but I do agree with some of the sentiments of the whistleblower,” Hoskinson wrote in response on X. Ah, the drama continues.

Gregaard, however, was more diplomatic about any potential rift. “There’s no monetary exchange going on between us, but we do work very closely together,” he said. One can only assume that he’s a master of diplomacy.

“We sometimes go to [a conference] and we share a booth. So we come together and we sponsor booths together, that’s the closest you will get to any affiliates, which is very different compared to both the Ethereum foundation or Tezos foundation, where they basically control the Treasury and control the disbursements.”

“On the flip side, we [Cardano Foundation] are the liability umbrella for the community and the blockchain, which means that we are the one who interacts with the SEC and the CSDC and the FMA, and I negotiated MICA with the European Parliament.”

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2025-03-14 22:08