Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson (찰스 호스킨슨) predicted Cardano could return to the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market value by the end of 2026.

On July 11, blockchain media outlet The Crypto Basic reported that Hoskinson said Cardano would end 2026 in a much stronger position than now and secure greater upward momentum in 2027.

Cardano stayed in the top 10 by market value for a long time in the past but is now outside the group. It has recently been moving back up. ADA was 18th by market value early this month and has risen to 15th. It briefly climbed to 13th after overtaking Stellar (XLM) but soon fell back.

ADA’s market value is $6.11 billion, only narrowly ahead of Monero (XMR) below it. For Cardano to re-enter the top 10, it must overtake Dogecoin, currently 10th. Based on current valuations, ADA would need to rise about 88 percent, from about $0.1678 to $0.3154, to surpass Dogecoin.

Hoskinson said Cardano’s long-term outlook should not be judged solely on its recent weakness. He stressed that technical development across the ecosystem underpins long-term growth and cited the development team’s launch of the Ouroboros Leios testnet last month as a key reason.

The Ouroboros Leios mainnet is expected to launch later this year. Hoskinson said the upgrade could make Cardano up to 60 times faster by the end of 2026. He said it could sharply improve network scalability and transaction throughput, aligning with expectations for a recovery in Cardano’s competitiveness.

The development team has also recently begun Phase 1 of the RealFi testnet. The project focuses on expanding services to groups with limited access to financial services while drawing new users and developers into the Cardano ecosystem.

Hoskinson’s remarks put more weight on ecosystem expansion and technical upgrades than on short-term price forecasts. He predicted Cardano could return to the top ranks in 2026 and secure strong upward momentum in 2027. Market attention is expected to focus not on short-term rank moves for ADA but on whether the Ouroboros Leios mainnet launch and the expansion of the RealFi testnet lead to actual user growth and a recovery in market value.