Cardano CEO Urges Calm as ADA Crashes to 2020 Lows

Cardano (ADA) fell about 15% in 24 hours to near $0.16 on Friday, its lowest level since late 2020, extending a selloff that has erased roughly 30% of its value in a week.

The drop left ADA ranked 17th by market value, with its market capitalization slipping below $6 billion. Cardano Foundation CEO Frederik Gregaard urged investors to look past short-term price action, but can they?

Cardano Price Performance. Source: Coingecko

ADA Price Slide Deepens as Crypto Market Sells Off

The token exchanged hands near $0.16, down about 15% on the day and roughly 30% over the past week.

That marked its weakest level since late 2020 and left ADA close to 95% below the $3.09 record it set in September 2021.

The fall tracked a wider risk-off move across digital assets. Trading volume topped $1.1 billion as sellers pressured the price. Search interest in the term ADA price also spiked sharply as the decline accelerated.

However, some on-chain signals stayed firm. Reports show active addresses rising during the dip, even as the token printed fresh lows.

Cardano (ADA) Price Performance Since 2019. Source: TradingView

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Cardano Foundation CEO Defends Long-Term Building

Gregaard, the Foundation’s first chief executive since 2020 and a former PwC banking executive, separated market sentiment from network progress.

He pointed to governance running at scale, expanding DeFi projects, and real-world asset work across several regions.

“What matters long term is not short-term market sentiment, but whether an ecosystem continues to build meaningful infrastructure and attract real adoption,” Gregaard stated.

He framed that progress as verifiable and auditable on-chain, highlighting decentralized voting under the network’s on-chain governance framework, treasury activity, and identity work, including a program tied to 20,000 farmers in India.

Ecosystem Faces Leadership Strain

The defense arrived during a difficult stretch for Cardano. Analytics platform TapTools said on June 3 it would wind down within two weeks after losing five senior executives this year, including both co-founders.

That closure followed the shutdown of the leading NFT marketplace JPG.Store in May, part of a broader wave of project shutdowns.

Founder Charles Hoskinson also stepped back from public engagement, citing online toxicity. A failed community vote earlier canceled the 2026 summit.

Amid all these controversies, investor interest in the “ADA price” is surging, rising 73% since late May.

ADA Price Search Interest. Source: Google Trends

The coming weeks will test whether Gregaard’s focus on fundamentals can steady confidence, or whether falling prices keep driving the story.