Cardano recorded the fourth-highest level of decentralisation among major blockchains based on the Nakamoto coefficient.

The Crypto Basic, a blockchain media outlet, reported on June 23, local time, that Cardano's Nakamoto coefficient was tallied at 23.

The Nakamoto coefficient is a metric that shows the minimum number of independent entities with enough control to disrupt network consensus. Under proof-of-stake (PoS), consensus can be disrupted by securing 33 percent of total staked supply or voting power. Under proof-of-work (PoW), censorship is possible by controlling 50 percent of total hashrate. A higher coefficient means authority is more widely distributed.

A coefficient of 23 means 23 independent network contributors would need to agree to damage the network. Only three networks scored higher than Cardano: Polkadot (DOT) at 178, TON Network (TON) at 72 and Avalanche (AVAX) at 26.

This ranking appears to reflect the adoption of fully decentralised governance through the Plomin hard fork. Through the shift, Cardano handed network control to ADA holders and set up a structure in which token holders directly decide the direction of network operations. The governance system, however, left both advantages and disadvantages in the ecosystem.

Network usage costs showed a downward trend. As of June 22, Cardano's average ADA transaction fee was tallied at $0.056. That is lower than the March average of about $0.082. In April and May, transaction fees exceeded $0.09 several times and generally stayed in the $0.07 to $0.08 range.

In June, the decline in dollar-denominated fees became more pronounced. On Saturday, it fell to as low as $0.051, the lowest since March. This trend could lower the cost of using Cardano and encourage broader adoption.

ADA price weakness was also presented as a factor behind the fee decline. Cardano's average transaction fee is 0.3541 ADA. When ADA was priced at $0.28 in March, the fee converted to dollars was about $0.099, but at the current price of $0.15 it falls to about $0.053. As a result, the recent fee decline should be viewed alongside changes in token prices as well as shifts in the network's cost structure.

Ultimately, Cardano entered the top ranks on a decentralisation metric on the back of governance decentralisation, while usage costs fell to the lowest level in recent months. The key question going forward is whether these structural changes will lead to an actual increase in network participation and stability in ecosystem operations.