Cardano vs Avalanche

General

Description

Cardano Logo
Cardano
 (ADA)

Cardano, similar to Ethereum, is a blockchain platform designed for running smart contracts. It operates on a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism, making it particularly energy-efficient. The technology is developed and rigorously reviewed by a network of academics and researchers, following a peer-review process.

Cardano overview
Avalanche Logo
Avalanche
 (AVAX)

Avalanche is a smart contract platform with a strong focus on scalability and speed. Developers can build decentralized applications and their own blockchains. For this reason, Avalanche is considered one of Ethereum’s strongest competitors, while maintaining compatibility with Ethereum apps to make potential migration easier.

Avalanche overview

Purpose and goals

Cardano Logo
Cardano
 (ADA)
  • Smart contract platform
  • Decentralized finance (DeFi)
  • Decentralized applications
Avalanche Logo
Avalanche
 (AVAX)
  • Smart contract platform
  • Decentralized applications
  • Fast transactions

Price and market data

Price chart

Cardano
 (ADA)

$0.949

+17.61%
Avalanche
 (AVAX)

$23.91

-2.09%
Market data
CardanoAvalanche
Market cap
$34.65B
$10.12B
Market share
0.85%
0.25%
Current price

$0.95

+$0.0055+0.58%

$23.91

-$1.01-4.24%
ADA converterAVAX converter
All-time high
$3.09
Sep 02, 2021-69.17%
$144.96
Nov 21, 2021-83.44%
Crypto all-time highs
Cycle low
$0.23
+304.19%Jun 10, 2023
$8.69
+174.78%Oct 19, 2023
Prediction for 2025
Powered by AI
$1.83
+92.62%
$58.56
+143.69%
ADA predictionAVAX prediction
Relative Strength Index
Sell
BuySell
Sell (70.45)
Neutral
BuySell
Neutral (52.58)
Price trend
Positive
(18/30 days)
Positive
(17/30 days)
Price performance
+183.07%
+16.30%
Price performance
-0.88%
-30.15%
Price performance
+23.00%
+5.22%
Price performance
+17.61%
-2.09%
Price performance
+0.58%
-4.24%
Price performance
-1.40%
-0.46%
Annual return
+9.53%
-33.96%
Annual return
+42.81%
-8.76%
Annual return
+145.00%
+262.68%
ADA returnsAVAX returns
Total return
+3,408.24%
2017 – 2025
+348.93%
2020 – 2025
Average annual return
+390.50%
+576.78%
Transaction volume
$3.56B
24h
$1.06B
24h
Max supply
45B
720M
Circulating supply
36.45B
422.28M
Inflation
-0.23%
Year
7.47%
Year
Crypto inflation

On-chain data

Market data
CardanoAvalanche
Total Value Locked (TVL)
$439.42M
$1.93B
What is Total Value Locked?
Market cap/TVL (ratio)
78.85
5.25
Transactions (avg./day)
Active addresses (24h)
32,631

Our rating

Our rating
CardanoAvalanche
Our overall rating
Cardano
Avalanche
How we evaluate cryptocurrencies

Our individual ratings

Risk
Cardano: 5 of 10
Risk (Cardano)
Avalanche: 5 of 10
Risk (Avalanche)
Cardano Logo
Avalanche Logo
riskyless risky
Community
Cardano: 8 of 10
Community (Cardano)
Avalanche: 6 of 10
Community (Avalanche)
Cardano Logo
Avalanche Logo
smalllarge
Hype & momentum
Cardano: 7 of 10
Hype & momentum (Cardano)
Avalanche: 7 of 10
Hype & momentum (Avalanche)
Cardano Logo
Avalanche Logo
weakstrong
Active usage
Cardano: 3 of 10
Active usage (Cardano)
Avalanche: 7 of 10
Active usage (Avalanche)
Cardano Logo
Avalanche Logo
lowhigh
Network effect
Cardano: 2 of 10
Network effect (Cardano)
Avalanche: 5 of 10
Network effect (Avalanche)
Cardano Logo
Avalanche Logo
weakstrong
Decentralization
Cardano: 5 of 10
Decentralization (Cardano)
Avalanche: 5 of 10
Decentralization (Avalanche)
Cardano Logo
Avalanche Logo
centralizeddecentralized

Our opinion

Cardano Logo
Cardano
 (ADA)
Cardano has solid technical foundations and an intriguing scientific approach. The problem: development is often too slow for the fast-moving crypto space, and this shows in its lack of real adoption. While competitors like Solana or Avalanche rapidly ship features and attract developers, Cardano has relatively little Total Value Locked (TVL) and few active projects despite having smart contracts since 2021. The DeFi ecosystem exists on paper, but most developers are still building elsewhere. The scientific approach may be theoretically superior — but without genuine adoption, it remains an academic exercise.
Cardano overview
Avalanche Logo
Avalanche
 (AVAX)
Avalanche offers developers what has long been missing from Ethereum: extremely fast and low-cost transactions, which are essential for decentralized applications and made possible by unique technical features. The Avalanche system consists of three interoperable blockchains—X-Chain, C-Chain, and P-Chain—each responsible for specific network functions. This architecture, combined with Proof of Stake, enables high performance that has already convinced several prominent projects to build on Avalanche. We also see the compatibility with Ethereum as an important feature, as it makes it easier for developers of existing Ethereum apps to transition. However, whether Avalanche’s superior performance will ultimately be enough to capture significant market share from Ethereum remains uncertain and will be determined over time.
Avalanche overview

Details

Info
CardanoAvalanche
Founder
Charles Hoskinson
Emin Gün Sirer
Developer
Cardano Foundation, IOHK, Emurgo
Ava Labs
Published
2017
2020
Open source
Yes
Yes
Sector
Smart Contracts
Smart Contracts
Key feature
Scientific Approach
Performance
Blockchain
Cardano Blockchain
Avalanche Blockchain
Staking
Yes
Yes
Consensus mechanism
Proof of Stake (Ouroboros)
Proof of Stake
Energy consumption
Low
Low
Transactions per second
250 TPS
4,500 TPS
Institutional investors
  • Cognitive Blockchain Capital
  • Andreessen Horowitz
  • Bitmain Technologies
  • Galaxy Digital
  • Initialized Capital
  • Three Arrows Capital
  • Polychain Capital
  • etc.
Community
840,187 followers
1.13M followers
Website
cardano.org
www.avax.network
Whitepaper
Whitepaper
Whitepaper
Cardano vs Avalanche

Cardano or Avalanche

Market data comparison of ADA versus AVAX

The current price of Cardano is $0.95 and has increased by in the last 24 hours. Avalanche is currently trading at $23.91, with a drop of over the same period. Cardano has a market cap of $34.65B and ranks 10th. Avalanche follows with a market cap of $10.12B, ranking 23rd — meaning it is valued lower.

We automatically update all market data every 15 minutes, so you always have the latest figures for your comparison.

Should I buy Cardano or Avalanche?

You should be aware that investing in cryptocurrencies carries risks, and we are neither allowed nor intending to provide investment advice. Still, we'd like to offer some food for thought: consider the opportunities and risks associated with both Cardano and Avalanche. What target markets and problems are these two projects aiming to address?

If you're still unsure whether to invest in Cardano or Avalanche, you can take a look at some additional market data to help with your decision:

Currently, Cardano is about below it's all-time high of $3.09 reached on Sep 02, 2021.
In comparison, Avalanche is down approximately from it's all-time high of $144.96 on Nov 21, 2021.
Cardano currently has a 236.14% higher 24h transaction volume of $3.56B compared to Avalanche with $1.06B.
Over the past year, Cardano achieved a total return of , while Avalanche returned . Keep in mind, however, that past performance rarely guarantees future results.

Additional criteria for comparing cryptocurrencies:

  • What problem does the project aim to solve, and is a decentralized network meaningful and necessary for it?
  • How actively is the network being used?
  • Does the project have a large and active community?
  • How strong is the development activity? (e.g., on GitHub)
  • How decentralized is the underlying blockchain and the project itself?

How we evaluate cryptocurrencies

These are just a few indicators you can use to better evaluate and compare cryptocurrencies like Cardano and Avalanche. Cryptocurrencies and their underlying technologies are often difficult to compare — even for professionals. So don’t stress yourself out, and never let emotions or fear of missing out drive your investment decisions.

Where can I buy Cardano or Avalanche?

Today, there are many reputable and secure exchanges that make it easy to invest in Cardano and Avalanche. We're happy to help you choose the right one: simply use our exchange comparison tool to find the platform that best suits your needs. Both Cardano and Avalanche are well-known and in high demand, which means they're available on most major exchanges.

Crypto exchanges comparison

Which crypto wallet is best for Cardano and Avalanche?

If you want to store cryptocurrencies like Cardano or Avalanche yourself, choosing the right wallet is essential. Consider your personal preferences when deciding: Is ease of use important to you? Do you prefer maximum security with a hardware wallet (USB device), or is a software wallet sufficient for your needs? Our crypto wallet comparison helps you find the best wallet for Cardano, Avalanche, and many other cryptocurrencies.

Crypto wallets comparison

How does our comparison work?

Data & Interfaces

Our market data is automatically updated every 15 minutes. This means you can always use the latest data for your comparisons. We obtain the data through web interfaces (API) from CoinGecko, Santiment, DefiLlama, CoinCodex and many more

Research & Deepdive

We regularly sift through a jungle of technical whitepapers, websites, social media and forums for you. In doing so, we filter out essential and relevant information in order to present it to you clearly and comprehensibly in our comparison

Analysis & Valuation

We research and use analysis tools for blockchains and their networks, to form a fact-based foundation for our valuation. Please note that this is not an investment recommendation, but merely our personal opinion.

Community & Feedback

We check our information every 1-2 months to ensure it is up to date and correct. With the help of our community, we can find outdated or incorrect data even faster. Of course, we also welcome your feedback or suggestions for improvement!

Our data on cryptocurrencies was last updated on 2025-08-16T09:50:23.410911+00:00. Sources: CoinGecko, santiment.net, defillama.com, coincodex.com.

The content on this website is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, legal, or tax advice. It should not be interpreted as a guarantee of future price developments or as an invitation to act. All visitors are responsible for independently verifying any information before using a listed service. Trading cryptocurrencies involves significant risk and may result in the total loss of your invested capital. Past performance is not indicative of future results. We do not assume any liability for the timeliness, accuracy, or completeness of the information provided, including third-party content. Some of the links on this website are affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service through one of these links, we may receive a commission — at no additional cost to you. All actions are taken at your own risk.