DeFi activity on the Cardano (ADA ($0.27 · Live)) network is showing strong momentum, with total value locked (TVL) increasing by over 23%. Despite increasing activity on the chain, ADA continues to trade below $0.30 and has seen low performance, price volatility and constant selling over the past months.
Cardano sees the rise of DeFi as the price of ADA drops
Cardano’s decentralized financial ecosystem is experiencing a significant increase in activity, although the price of ADA remains depressed. As of March 13, 2026, the token was trading at around $0.27, down more than 90% from its peak, creating a stark contrast between network growth and price performance.
It is worth noting that Dave, the Share Pool Operator (SPO) and Authorized Representative (DRep) for the Cardano blockchain, reached out to X to highlight the scale of the network’s recent DeFi expansion. He noted that despite the recent price weakness, Cardano’s TVL is up 23.5% over the past 12 days, from $447.13 million on February 26 to $552.35 million on March 13. This represents approximately $105 million in additional capital to the Cardano DeFi ecosystem.
The data shows that this increase is due to imports, not in US dollars, directly with ADA. Data from DeFiLlama, which tracks TVL in US dollars, shows that the total value of Cardano DeFi was around $127 million on February 26 before falling to around $142.27 million in the following days, reflecting a smaller profit.
Additional insights from Cardano DRep, Dori, on X show that the ratio of stablecoin supply to DeFi TVL on Cardano has increased sharply over the past few months. Dory reported that the recent integration of USDCx in Cardano has already caused a significant change in the stablecoin landscape of the network.
He noted that TVL’s stablecoin-to-DeFi ratio has risen from around 10% last June to 32% during his tenure, nearly tripling within a year. He attributed some of that ratio increase to the ADA price drop. Since most of the network’s DeFi value is stored in ADA, the continued decline in its market price when measured in US dollars has reduced Cardano’s TVL.
However, Dory emphasized that the integration of USDCx is an important step in the development of DeFi on Cardano. He noted that with the steady increase in coin volume, Cardano’s DeFi ecosystem is expected to diversify and mature organically.
ADA analyst projects are recovering despite the channel’s downfall
On the technical side, crypto analyst ZAYK Charts on X revealed that ADA is currently trading within a falling channel, highlighting an extended downward move from 2025. Looking at the chart, the cryptocurrency has continued its downward trend since September last year, dropping from $1 to $0.27 above the record.
Despite the poor performance, ZAYK Charts maintain an optimistic outlook for the altcoin. He predicts that if ADA breaks its resistance near $0.28 in the ascending channel, the price could rise 108% to $0.55.
