Cardano vs Litecoin

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
Litecoin Logo
Litecoin
 (LTC)

Litecoin is a fork of Bitcoin and was one of the first alternative coins to emerge alongside it. Several years ago, Litecoin positioned itself as “silver” to Bitcoin’s “digital gold.” It has also frequently served as a testing ground for potential upgrades to the Bitcoin protocol, allowing new features to be trialed on the Litecoin network first.

Litecoin overview

Purpose and goals

Cardano Logo
Cardano
 (ADA)
  • Smart contract platform
  • Decentralized finance (DeFi)
  • Decentralized applications
Litecoin Logo
Litecoin
 (LTC)
  • Digital currency
  • Former test network for Bitcoin
  • Fast transactions

Price and market data

Price chart

Cardano
 (ADA)

$0.940

+18.32%
Litecoin
 (LTC)

$118.83

-4.32%
Market data
CardanoLitecoin
Market cap
$34.18B
$9.06B
Market share
0.85%
0.22%
Current price

$0.94

+$0.015+1.61%

$118.83

-$2.55-2.15%
ADA converterLTC converter
All-time high
$3.09
Sep 02, 2021-69.52%
$410.26
May 10, 2021-71.02%
Crypto all-time highs
Cycle low
$0.23
+302.33%Jun 10, 2023
$40.47
+193.81%Jun 14, 2022
Prediction for 2025
Powered by AI
$1.83
+94.96%
$290.83
+144.44%
ADA predictionLTC prediction
Relative Strength Index
Neutral
BuySell
Neutral (69.41)
Neutral
BuySell
Neutral (57.35)
Price trend
Positive
(18/30 days)
Positive
(17/30 days)
Price performance
+190.22%
+83.86%
Price performance
+0.90%
+3.23%
Price performance
+22.49%
+21.47%
Price performance
+18.32%
-4.32%
Price performance
+1.61%
-2.15%
Price performance
-1.48%
-0.27%
Annual return
+9.53%
+19.84%
Annual return
+42.81%
+35.10%
Annual return
+145.00%
+7.93%
ADA returnsLTC returns
Total return
+3,348.61%
2017 – 2025
+2,723.39%
2013 – 2025
Average annual return
+390.50%
+433.96%
Transaction volume
$3.74B
24h
$947.02M
24h
Max supply
45B
84M
Circulating supply
36.36B
76.19M
Inflation
-0.23%
Year
2.17%
Year
Crypto inflation

On-chain data

Market data
CardanoLitecoin
Total Value Locked (TVL)
$427.19M
What is Total Value Locked?
Market cap/TVL (ratio)
80.01
Transactions (avg./day)
189,897
Active addresses (24h)
34,472

Our rating

Our rating
CardanoLitecoin
Our overall rating
Cardano
Litecoin
How we evaluate cryptocurrencies

Our individual ratings

Risk
Cardano: 5 of 10
Risk (Cardano)
Litecoin: 2 of 10
Risk (Litecoin)
Cardano Logo
Litecoin Logo
riskyless risky
Community
Cardano: 8 of 10
Community (Cardano)
Litecoin: 3 of 10
Community (Litecoin)
Cardano Logo
Litecoin Logo
smalllarge
Hype & momentum
Cardano: 7 of 10
Hype & momentum (Cardano)
Litecoin: 2 of 10
Hype & momentum (Litecoin)
Cardano Logo
Litecoin Logo
weakstrong
Active usage
Cardano: 3 of 10
Active usage (Cardano)
Litecoin: 3 of 10
Active usage (Litecoin)
Cardano Logo
Litecoin Logo
lowhigh
Network effect
Cardano: 2 of 10
Network effect (Cardano)
Litecoin: 1 of 10
Network effect (Litecoin)
Cardano Logo
Litecoin Logo
weakstrong
Decentralization
Cardano: 5 of 10
Decentralization (Cardano)
Litecoin: 5 of 10
Decentralization (Litecoin)
Cardano Logo
Litecoin 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
Litecoin Logo
Litecoin
 (LTC)
A few years ago, Litecoin was highly regarded in the crypto scene, as it was not only one of the first alternative networks to Bitcoin, launched in 2011, but also served extensively as a “crash-test dummy” for Bitcoin. Today, however, it’s difficult to see real utility or justification for Litecoin’s continued existence. The network—and therefore the digital currency—is scarcely used, and even founder Charlie Lee stepped down from his role as founder and lead developer back in 2017. As a long-term investment, we consider Litecoin uninteresting, though we fondly remember the early days. Together with Bitcoin, Litecoin was undoubtedly one of the pioneers in the crypto space and played an important role in testing various upgrades for the Bitcoin protocol.
Litecoin overview

Details

Info
CardanoLitecoin
Founder
Charles Hoskinson
Charlie Lee
Developer
Cardano Foundation, IOHK, Emurgo
Litecoin Foundation
Published
2017
2011
Open source
Yes
Yes
Sector
Smart Contracts
Currency
Key feature
Scientific Approach
Fast Transactions
Blockchain
Cardano Blockchain
Litecoin Blockchain
Staking
Yes
No
Consensus mechanism
Proof of Stake (Ouroboros)
Proof of Work
Energy consumption
Low
High
Transactions per second
250 TPS
56 TPS
Institutional investors
  • Cognitive Blockchain Capital
  • Galaxy Digital
  • Block Ventures
  • Kenetic Capital
  • Digichain Capital
  • Parallax Digital
  • etc.
Community
840,187 followers
225,579 followers
Website
cardano.org
litecoin.org
Whitepaper
Whitepaper
Whitepaper
Cardano vs Litecoin

Cardano or Litecoin

Market data comparison of ADA versus LTC

The current price of Cardano is $0.94 and has increased by in the last 24 hours. Litecoin is currently trading at $118.83, with a drop of over the same period. Cardano has a market cap of $34.18B and ranks 10th. Litecoin follows with a market cap of $9.06B, ranking 25th — 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 Litecoin?

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 Litecoin. What target markets and problems are these two projects aiming to address?

If you're still unsure whether to invest in Cardano or Litecoin, 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, Litecoin is down approximately from it's all-time high of $410.26 on May 10, 2021.
Cardano currently has a 295.43% higher 24h transaction volume of $3.74B compared to Litecoin with $947.02M.
Over the past year, Cardano achieved a total return of , while Litecoin 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 Litecoin. 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 Litecoin?

Today, there are many reputable and secure exchanges that make it easy to invest in Cardano and Litecoin. 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 Litecoin 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 Litecoin?

If you want to store cryptocurrencies like Cardano or Litecoin 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, Litecoin, 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 2025-08-15T23:50:31.360741+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.