Cardano Founder Pinpoints the Missing ’Mojo’: Why BTC, ETH, XRP, and ADA Are Tumbling
The crypto market's swagger has vanished. Major digital assets from Bitcoin to Cardano are caught in a downdraft, and a key architect from within the ecosystem is pointing the finger at a fundamental lack of spark.
The Innovation Engine Has Stalled
According to Charles Hoskinson, the founder of Cardano, the current slump isn't just about macroeconomic jitters or regulatory fog. The core issue is a creativity crisis. The market is desperately waiting for the next killer application—the 'mojo'—that proves blockchain's utility beyond speculative trading and moves the needle for real people.
Without a breakthrough use case that captures global imagination, even top-tier assets struggle to maintain momentum. The narrative has shifted from world-changing technology to waiting for the next catalyst, a sentiment that weighs heavily on trader psychology.
Beyond the Price Charts
This analysis cuts to the heart of a sector often obsessed with short-term charts. It suggests that sustainable growth won't come from another meme coin frenzy or leveraged futures trade, but from tangible utility that bypasses traditional financial gatekeepers. The market is punishing projects, big and small, for failing to deliver on that core promise fast enough.
For now, the sector seems stuck in a holding pattern, acting more like a speculative tech ETF than the disruptive financial revolution it promised to be—a familiar tale for anyone who's watched a hot new trend get bogged down in its own hype.
Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has responded to growing questions about why ADA’s price is not rising, even as excitement builds around Midnight ($NIGHT), a new Cardano-linked project that recently surged in popularity.
This week, $NIGHT topped CoinGecko’s list of most trending cryptocurrencies, briefly outperforming major names like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana in online interest. Reacting to the milestone, Hoskinson said the project is “just getting started” and called Midnight the first Cardano-native asset to trend above Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Hoskinson says Midnight could play a big role across the crypto ecosystem. He said adding Midnight to XRP-based DeFi could challenge traditional banks, while connecting it to Bitcoin could help unlock the vision Satoshi Nakamoto originally imagined. For Cardano itself, he said Midnight could supercharge DeFi, potentially increasing users, transactions, and total value locked by ten times through large-scale private DeFi.
He described this phase as the arrival of a “fourth generation” of blockchain technology.
Why Isn’t ADA Price Rising?
Despite the positive news, ADA’s price remains weak. One community member directly asked Hoskinson why Cardano’s price is not moving, even with strong developments and growing attention.
Because there is no mojo left in the cryptocurrency markets, value extractors and persistent scams, hacks, bad news, and manipulation have left them broken, brittle, and angry.
It's going to take a few months of cooling off for them to recover
Hoskinson gave a blunt answer. He said the wider crypto market has lost momentum after years of scams, hacks, bad actors, manipulation, and negative headlines. According to him, markets are currently “broken, brittle, and angry,” and need time to cool down before real value can return.
He added that it could take several months for confidence to rebuild.
Where ADA Stands Now
At the time of writing, ADA is trading below $0.40, though it has gained around 3% in the last 24 hours. Still, the token has been hit hard compared to earlier cycles.
ADA remains in a clear downtrend, with no strong signs of a major reversal yet. A meaningful recovery would require cardano to break above resistance levels and show sustained strength, which has not happened so far.
While ADA’s price action remains disappointing for many holders, Hoskinson’s comments could mean that Cardano’s long-term strategy is focused on infrastructure, privacy, and real utility, not short-term price moves.
