Better late than never! Cardano ADA upgrades to Alonzo, officially deploying smart contract functionality.

Yesterday evening, after executing the Alonzo hard fork, Cardano deployed smart contract functionality onto the Cardano mainnet. Users can now write and execute programs in the Plutus programming language, enabling a broader range of DApps and DeFi projects to run on the network, ranging from simple coin exchange platforms like Swap to decentralized exchanges (DEX), and even more complex projects like oracle solutions and algorithmic stablecoins, all supported by Cardano.

Market Expectations and Views on Cardano Upgrade

At the beginning of this month, the price of Cardano ADA soared due to market expectations for the Alonzo upgrade. When Cardano's developer IOHK launched the Alonzo testnet on September 2, ADA reached a historic high of $3.09. The current price has slightly retreated to $2.45.

Shortly after the testnet went live, Cardano introduced its first DApp, a multi-pool exchange named Minswap. However, it was temporarily shut down shortly after launch due to difficulties in handling multiple transactions simultaneously. This situation led to negative sentiments in the community, with a senior Ethereum researcher expressing on his Twitter:

Cardano is the biggest joke in the crypto space. Its existence itself is an insult to the industry.

This statement reflects his disappointment in a public chain that has been in existence for 6 years and has a market value exceeding $70 billion. After all, the ability to build a DeFi-friendly environment and conduct transactions in parallel is an essential feature.

Future Development Direction of Cardano

However, following the official implementation of the Alonzo hard fork by Cardano yesterday, the development team also published a blog post on their blog, stating:

All core blocks have been constructed. While smart contracts and DeFi are in their early stages, significant progress has been made. Some early DApps may encounter issues. As this is a permissionless, decentralized blockchain, any team can develop on it, making this inevitable.

Looking at Cardano's ecosystem, it is filled with various projects in development or preparing for launch. The annual Cardano Summit will also be held on September 25, making the second half of the year promising for Cardano's ecosystem development.