Cardano’s ADA vs Bitcoin: Can Hoskinson’s 100x Prediction Actually Happen in 2025?

Charles Hoskinson just threw gasoline on the crypto rivalry—claiming ADA could 100x against Bitcoin. But can the 'Ethereum killer' really dethrone the king?

We break down the hype versus reality.

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The 100x Gambit: Math or Myth?

Hoskinson's prediction would require Cardano's market cap to hit $9 trillion—surpassing Apple and Microsoft combined. Even for crypto, that’s some hopium.

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Bitcoin’s Staying Power

While ADA boasts faster transactions, Bitcoin remains the institutional darling. Wall Street’s ETF approvals prove money still flows where the brand recognition is—not necessarily where the tech’s shiniest.

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The Cynic’s Corner

Let’s be real: most altcoin ‘moon’ predictions age like milk left in a Dubai summer. But hey, if you ignore the 99% of coins that failed, crypto’s track record is flawless.

Key Takeaways

Charles Hoskinson projected that ADA could explode $80 or $800 if it becomes a Bitcoin DeFi yield layer. There were slight capital inflows, which could boost it in the short term.

Cardano [ADA] founder Charles Hoskinson has made a bold price prediction for the altcoin, stating that it could rally 100x or 1000x ($80-$800) and outperform even bitcoin [BTC].

In a recent Blockworks interview, Hoskinson added, 

“ADA could do 100x, or 1000x. We’re not second-class citizens. Cardano does substantially more, and it will end up being the yield layer of Bitcoin DeFi.” 

He noted that the ADA was a better investment than BTC because those holding ADA will not only get yield but also other tokens that support the broader cardano ecosystem. 

Reiterating his investment thesis, Hoskinson said that they had 108K BTC that could be worth about $15 billion if they held on to it at current market values.

But over the same period, ADA’s market cap hit $30 billion, with Hoskinson adding that they outperformed BTC by 2x. 

ADA/BTC suggests…

Source: ADA/BTC, TradingView 

While it’s true that ADA outperformed BTC last November by 160%, it has lagged behind the king coin in H1 2025.

Since June, however, ADA managed to rally nearly 30% more than BTC. But when zoomed out from 2021, ADA was down 88% against BTC. 

It remains to be seen whether the planned integration with Bitcoin will boost ADA’s value as projected by Hoskinson. 

Meanwhile, in the short term, ADA’s spot taker CVD (cumulative volume delta) has turned negative, underscoring strong selling pressure in the past week.

If the trend continues, ADA’s short-term recovery could be capped. 

Source: CryptoQuant

Even so, the realized cap didn’t paint a dire outlook.

Despite the recovery stalling and retracing slightly, the realized cap (amount of capital inflows into the asset) has increased slightly from $23.4 billion to $23.6 billion.

This suggested that investors still poured money into the asset, underscoring conviction. 

Source: Santiment

All eyes on $0.80-$0.90 range

On the price charts, ADA hovered around $0.80, a key resistance level in Q2.

Defending it as a support could allow ADA bulls to eye $1 or $1.15. However, if the hurdle remains strong and the 200-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) is cracked, it could embolden short sellers. 

Source: ADA/USDT, TradingView