Cena Indigo Protocol - iUSD

1. The Dominance of NIGHT (Midnight Network) The most striking takeaway is the massive volume of the NIGHT token. • Volume Leadership: With 399M ₳ in volume over the 180-day period, NIGHT is outperforming the second-place token, SNEK, by nearly 2.7x. • Narrative Shift: NIGHT is the native token of Midnight, a Cardano "partner chain" focused on data protection and rational privacy using zero-knowledge (ZK) technology. Its high volume indicates that the market is pivoting from "meme-centric" trading toward infrastructure and privacy-preserving utility. • Liquidity Magnet: The price of 0.159 ₳ suggests a high-velocity asset. Investors are likely accumulating NIGHT to generate DUST (the non-transferable resource used for transaction fees on Midnight), creating a "staking-lite" demand loop. 2. The "Stablecoin Wars" on Cardano Five of the top nine tokens by volume are stablecoins (USDA, USDM, iUSD, DJED). This is a sign of a healthy, maturing DeFi ecosystem. • Fiat-Backed vs. Synthetic: We see a clear battle between fiat-backed entries like USDA and USDM (Moneta) and established synthetic options like iUSD (Indigo) and DJED (Coti). • Peg Stability: Interestingly, these assets are trading at a premium against ADA (roughly 3.4 ₳), reflecting ADA's current market price relative to the $1.00 USD peg. • Volume parity: The close volume numbers between USDA (83M ₳) and USDM (66M ₳) suggest that liquidity is still finding its "preferred" stablecoin home on Cardano. 3. Top Ecosystem Performers • SNEK (The Culture King): Despite the rise of infrastructure tokens, SNEK remains the liquidity king of Cardano "social" tokens with 145M ₳ in volume. It acts as the ecosystem’s primary barometer for retail sentiment. • WMTX (World Mobile Token): Ranking high with 58M ₳ volume, WMTX represents the "Real World Asset" (RWA) and DePIN (Decentralized Physical Infrastructure) sector, showing that Cardano users are interested in projects with physical utility. • IAG (Iagon): The presence of Iagon (48M ₳) highlights the growing demand for decentralized storage and computing within the ecosystem. Key Takeaways for Your Article: 1. Midnight is the "Manhattan Project" of Cardano: The volume data proves that the community is betting big on Hoskinson’s privacy-first vision. 2. Infrastructure > Hype: 180-day trends show that while memes (SNEK) are popular, the "big money" is moving into Privacy (NIGHT), Storage (IAG), and Stablecoins. 3. Institutional Readiness: The high volume in multiple stablecoins suggests the network is prepared for larger DeFi protocols and institutional on-ramps. $BTC

$COTI COTI’s CEPO Joshua Maddox joined host Tim Harrison from IOHK to discuss the future of stablecoins on Cardano, alongside leaders from Anzens (USDA), Indigo Protocol (iUSD), and USDM Official (USDM). Topic included: ➜ Why privacy is the unlock for enterprise adoption ➜ Real-world use cases: from cross-border payments to payroll ➜ Key design differences: fiat-backed, synthetic & overcollateralized ➜ Roadmaps, open-sourcing, and what’s coming next.

Cardano’s ADA price has recently navigated a volatile stretch, dipping as low as $0.71, but maintaining key technical levels. While broader market factors such as global trade tensions and Bitcoin’s sharp moves have impacted overall sentiment, ADA price prediction models continue to suggest a strong breakout setup. ADA/USD chart holding above support level - TradingView In the past week, ADA held its ground even as major liquidations rocked the crypto market. Over $500 million in long positions were wiped out, yet Cardano’s trading volume surged to $567.73 million, reflecting sustained investor interest. The current market cap of ADA sits at $26.02 billion, ranking it #9 among cryptocurrencies, with 35.33 billion ADA in circulation. Recent Cardano news highlights the platform’s enduring fundamentals despite price turbulence. According to Messari’s Q1 2025 report , the total staked ADA remains stable at 21.6 billion ADA, showing only a minor 1% decrease from the previous quarter. The Cardano treasury , which plays a vital role in future development funding, has also increased by 5%, reaching 1.7 billion ADA. However, due to ADA’s price decline, its USD value dropped by 19% to approximately $1.1 billion. Additionally, the Cardano stablecoin market grew by 30%, now valued at $30.1 million. This growth was led by increased adoption of fiat-backed tokens like USDM, USDA, and IUSD, indicating a maturing DeFi ecosystem on Cardano. Cardano’s governance also reached a significant milestone with the Plomin upgrade through CIP-1694, which onboarded 1,220 decentralized representatives ( DReps ). This shift marks a new era of community-driven treasury management, with 20% of transaction fees now directed to the treasury under democratic control. As Cardano continues to evolve, new developments such as the Ouroboros Leios protocol—designed for faster block finality—and the Midnight sidechain with ZK-proof privacy features position the platform for future growth. From a technical standpoint, ADA has been consolidating within a falling channel, forming a strong base. After dropping to the $0.50 range in April, ADA rebounded to $0.85 in May, suggesting increasing bullish strength. ADA/USD 2-hours chart - TradingView Analysts note that ADA’s current structure resembles a coiling pattern , with repeated accumulation and breakout phases. This extended consolidation is viewed as a healthier setup compared to prior parabolic cycles. As long as ADA holds above key exponential moving averages (EMAs), a push toward $1.00 remains on the table. If the token reclaims and sustains above $0.75, a move toward $0.86, and eventually $1.01, could follow—provided market conditions align. Cardano’s ADA price has recently navigated a volatile stretch, dipping as low as $0.71, but maintaining key technical levels. While broader market factors such as global trade tensions and Bitcoin’s sharp moves have impacted overall sentiment, ADA price prediction models continue to suggest a strong breakout setup. ADA/USD chart holding above support level - TradingView In the past week, ADA held its ground even as major liquidations rocked the crypto market. Over $500 million in long positions were wiped out, yet Cardano’s trading volume surged to $567.73 million, reflecting sustained investor interest. The current market cap of ADA sits at $26.02 billion, ranking it #9 among cryptocurrencies, with 35.33 billion ADA in circulation. Recent Cardano news highlights the platform’s enduring fundamentals despite price turbulence. According to Messari’s Q1 2025 report , the total staked ADA remains stable at 21.6 billion ADA, showing only a minor 1% decrease from the previous quarter. The Cardano treasury , which plays a vital role in future development funding, has also increased by 5%, reaching 1.7 billion ADA. However, due to ADA’s price decline, its USD value dropped by 19% to approximately $1.1 billion. Additionally, the Cardano stablecoin market grew by 30%, now valued at $30.1 million. This growth was led by increased adoption of fiat-backed tokens like USDM, USDA, and IUSD, indicating a maturing DeFi ecosystem on Cardano. Cardano’s governance also reached a significant milestone with the Plomin upgrade through CIP-1694, which onboarded 1,220 decentralized representatives ( DReps ). This shift marks a new era of community-driven treasury management, with 20% of transaction fees now directed to the treasury under democratic control. As Cardano continues to evolve, new developments such as the Ouroboros Leios protocol—designed for faster block finality—and the Midnight sidechain with ZK-proof privacy features position the platform for future growth. From a technical standpoint, ADA has been consolidating within a falling channel, forming a strong base. After dropping to the $0.50 range in April, ADA rebounded to $0.85 in May, suggesting increasing bullish strength. ADA/USD 2-hours chart - TradingView Analysts note that ADA’s current structure resembles a coiling pattern , with repeated accumulation and breakout phases. This extended consolidation is viewed as a healthier setup compared to prior parabolic cycles. As long as ADA holds above key exponential moving averages (EMAs), a push toward $1.00 remains on the table. If the token reclaims and sustains above $0.75, a move toward $0.86, and eventually $1.01, could follow—provided market conditions align.

Ripple’s USD-pegged stablecoin, RLUSD, closed Q1 2025 with a combined market capitalization of $244.2 million across the XRP Ledger (XRPL) and Ethereum. On XRPL alone, RLUSD reached a market cap of $44.2 million, making it the largest stablecoin on the network, according to the latest report by Messari. Due this growth, the total market cap of fungible tokens, known as Issued Currencies, surged by 6.5% QoQ to $281.5 million. Despite this milestone, stablecoin adoption on XRPL remains limited compared to dominant stablecoins like Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC), which ended Q1 with total market caps of $144.0 billion and $60.1 billion, respectively, across all supported networks. Historically, the introduction of a trusted stablecoin in a new execution environment has triggered major liquidity events, as seen with Cardano’s iUSD in 2023, often serving as a key pairing asset in automated market makers (AMMs). Until recently, regulatorily compliant tokens like RLUSD, which feature Clawback – a mechanism on XRPL that lets issuers retrieve distributed tokens – were not compatible with the network’s automated market maker (AMM) due to the lack of Clawback support. This changed in January when the AMM Clawback amendment was implemented, allowing such tokens to be traded on the AMM. The update is expected to boost AMM activity as more compliant assets launch on XRPL. Potential applications include enabling on-chain trading of previously illiquid real-world assets (RWAs), earning yields through AMM participation, and cross-chain price arbitrage. RLUSD launched publicly on December 17, 2024, on both XRPL and Ethereum. It is fully backed by US dollar deposits, short-term US Treasuries, and other cash equivalents, with monthly attestations provided by third-party firms. In January, Ripple announced the integration of Chainlink Price Feeds on Ethereum to provide RLUSD pricing data. In April, RLUSD was added to Ripple’s cross-border payment platform, Ripple Payments, while Kraken launched trading support. Additional Q1 listings came from LMAX Group, Zero Hash, and Bitstamp, joining Uphold, Bitso, MoonPay, Archax, CoinMENA, Independent Reserve, and Bullish. Further boosting infrastructure around RLUSD, Korean custody provider BDACS signed a strategic partnership with Ripple in February to offer custody services for XRP, RLUSD, and other digital assets.