Cardano has once again fallen out of the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization after a 4.7% decline over the past week, according to CoinGecko data.
During the same period, Toncoin (TON) experienced a 3.2% increase, securing its place in the top 10. This isn’t the first occurrence of such a swap; in April, Toncoin also overtook Cardano following a 12% surge in a single day.
Currently, ADA/USDT is priced at $0.46 on Gate.io, reflecting a 0.6% gain over the past day. In contrast, Toncoin is priced at $6.47, having risen 1.2% since yesterday.
ADA vs TON
Toncoin, the native token of The Open Network, now ranks as the 10th most valuable cryptocurrency globally, with a market cap exceeding $22 billion. One notable project on The Open Network, Notcoin, recently launched its NOT token, generating $1 billion in trading volume and reaching a $1 billion market cap.
Meanwhile, Cardano’s market cap stands at $16 billion, placing it 11th in the rankings. Meme coin Shiba Inu is close behind, trailing by less than $100 million.
The rise of meme coins continues to influence the market, with dog-themed tokens leading the charge. Solana-based Dogwifhat (WIF) jumped 11% to $3.68 yesterday. Over the past 24 hours, SHIB/USDT has surged 4.8% to $0.000027, nearing Cardano’s position.
Cardano, created in 2015 by Charles Hoskinson after his involvement in the founding of Ethereum, is often seen as a more serious project compared to its long-time competitor Solana. Cardano advocate Chris O took to Twitter to criticize Solana’s embrace of meme coins, calling it a “web3 casino,” while praising Cardano for its focus on solving real-world problems and positively impacting society.
Cardano has launched numerous initiatives aimed at global improvement, such as Emurgo Africa, which seeks to drive blockchain innovation on the continent. Despite these efforts, critics label Cardano a “ghost chain,” citing only 29,000 daily active wallets according to DeFi Llama.
While DeFi Llama lacks similar data for The Open Network, TonStat reports that The Open Network boasts 489,000 daily active wallets.
Understanding the diffefences
Cardano and Toncoin are both prominent cryptocurrencies, but they have distinct origins, purposes, and technical architectures that set them apart.
Cardano was founded in 2015 by Charles Hoskinson, one of the co-founders of Ethereum. It is built on a research-driven approach, employing peer-reviewed academic research to inform its development. The Cardano blockchain offers a secure and scalable platform for the development of decentralized applications (dApps) and smart contracts. Cardano’s native token, ADA, is used for transaction fees, staking, and governance within the network. One of Cardano’s key features is its two-layer architecture: the Cardano Settlement Layer (CSL) for ADA transactions and the Cardano Computation Layer (CCL) for smart contracts. This design aims to enhance the scalability and flexibility of the platform.
Toncoin, on the other hand, is the native cryptocurrency of The Open Network (TON), a blockchain project initially developed by the messaging app Telegram. TON was designed to integrate seamlessly with Telegram, enabling fast, secure, and scalable transactions. Toncoin serves as the fuel for the TON ecosystem, which includes various decentralized services and applications. Unlike Cardano, TON places a strong emphasis on integrating blockchain technology with a widely-used social messaging platform, aiming to leverage Telegram’s vast user base to drive adoption. TON’s architecture includes unique features like sharding, which allows the network to scale efficiently by dividing the blockchain into smaller, manageable parts.
The governance models of Cardano and TON also differ significantly. Cardano employs a formalized governance model where ADA holders can participate in the decision-making process through a voting system. This is part of its commitment to decentralization and community involvement. TON’s governance, influenced by its initial development by Telegram, also involves community participation, but the extent and mechanisms of governance may differ, especially given its integration with a centralized platform like Telegram.
In summary, while both Cardano and TON aim to create robust and scalable blockchain ecosystems, Cardano focuses on a research-driven, layered approach to building a decentralized platform for dApps and smart contracts. In contrast, TON leverages its integration with Telegram to create a scalable and user-friendly blockchain environment, emphasizing seamless interaction with social media. These differences highlight the diverse strategies and goals within the cryptocurrency space, which in turn may keep pushing the coins to exchange top10 places again in the future.
