The price of the native token of the smart contract platform Cardano ($ADA) has been hovering around the $1 mark amid a wider cryptocurrency market surge that has seen th price of the flagship cryptocurrency Bitcoin near $100,000 before a correction saw it drop to $95,000 at the time of writing.

If Cardano were to top $1, it would be doing so for the first time since April 2022, as the cryptocurrency had been underperforming other top digital assets over the past few months, before it started surging earlier this month.

At the time of writing ADA is trading at $0.998 after surging 206% over the last 30 days, and around 34.7% over the last seven-day period. According to on-chain analysis fir Santiment, trader realized ADA profits have recently surged to their highest level in eight months, while social media discussions hit an 11-month high.

đŸ€‘ Cardano has tripled its market cap over the past 17 days, amazingly bringing it to the cusp of surpassing a $1.00 market value for the first time since April, 2022. Today was the highest day of trader realized ADA profits in 8 months, and social media discussions are currently
 pic.twitter.com/qP0Kgq764n

— Santiment (@santimentfeed) November 22, 2024

Cardano’s price surge has been fueled by whale accumulation, with popular cryptocurrency analyst Ali Martinez noting that over the past month holders of over $10 million in ADA have increased their positions by over 145%.

As reported, on-chain analysis firm Santiment has noted that “Cardano is decoupled from the altcoin pack” as it moved to a near 8-month high. The firm added that ADA’s price ratio against BTC is also at a similar high, with the last time the whale volume was similar being ahead of a significant 26% price jump.

The cryptocurrency bull run has been benefiting the Cardano Foundation as well. As reported, the nonprofit organization supporting the Cardano ecosystem  has revealed in a recent report that as of Dec.31, 2023, it held $478.24 million in assets, with 82.5% of those being held in ADA, 10.1% in BTC, and the rest in cash and cash equivalents.

The value of these assets has likely grown significantly since, given the crypotocurrency market’s recent price rally. Its ADA holdings, for example, are up more than 100% over the past year, if the Foundation didn’t sell any.

The report details that the Cardano Foundation’s main income stream comes from the staking rewards generated by delegating the ADA tokens it holds on the Cardano network. Last year, it notes, its 668.8 million ADA tokens generated 20.9 million additional ADA, a 3.1% return.

Featured image via Unsplash.