Cardano price has been on a bullish uprun for the past few weeks. However, it is still 30% below its highest level this year. At the time of writing, it fell 4.61% to $1.7107. Its total market capitalization is at $54.8 billion, ranking it as the fifth largest crypto.
Cardano is billed as a third generation blockchain and aims at being more scalable. The currency platform was launched in September 2017.
ADA jumped more than 20% in intraday trading on Wednesday. It hit an intraday high of $1.8940, the highest level since June 3, 2021. Cardano’s founder Charles Hoskinson fueled hopes that the Cardano Alonzo hard fork is imminent.
Hoskinson, who is the CEO of Cardano’s developer Input Output HK, said that he would disclose the date for the final release of the update on Friday.
“We’ll be able to announce when the Alonzo hard fork is going to happen, and at that point, you’ll be able to run smart contracts on Cardano,” Hoskinson stated in a YouTube video.
The Alonzo hard fork will incorporate more advanced smart contracts and DeFi applications onto the blockchain. Alonzo purple will be the third and final stage of the three-stage upgrade to the Cardano network. By including smart contracts, the upgrade could help Cardano compete with Ethereum’s bigger network.
Analysts, as well as ADA traders, are optimistic about the new upgrade. Most predict that the Alonzo hard fork could stoke ADA to jump to $5.
The Cardano price is set for a bullish outcome ahead of the Alonzo upgrade. On the daily chart, it has formed a triple bottom reinforcing its bullish outlook. It hit an intraday bounce of $1.8690.
It is trading above the 50 and 100-day exponential moving averages, hinting at an uptrend. Its Relative Strength Index has been above 70 for the past few days. At 72.01, its RSI is two points into the overbought area, hinting at an imminent sell-off period.
However, there is a probability that the altcoin will jump past $1.900. A move below the critical support at $1.3900 will invalidate this stance.