Cardano Surges 11% While Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP Barely Move

Cardano (CRYPTO: ADA) surged about 11% Monday while Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC), Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) and XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) spiked only around 1%, respectively.

Cardano Leads a Quiet Market

CoinDesk reported Monday that ADA climbed to more than 27 cents, its highest price since May. 

Bitcoin and Ether gained just 1% and 0.5%, and Bitcoin remains stuck in its $84,000 to $87,000 range. 

Meanwhile, the US Dollar Index rose to 102.53, its highest level since April 2025, which often pressures crypto.

What May Be Behind the Move

CoinDesk noted the exact trigger is hard to pin down, but two developments could be pulling in buyers:

• RealFi product: launched Oct. 1, it lets users move stablecoins into institutional credit for yields of up to 9% a year
• Dijkstra upgrade: its first phase arrives between late December and early 2027, aiming to boost transaction speed

As Benzinga reported last month, Cardano also joined the x402 payments kit, which lets AI agents pay for web services in ADA.

The Catch: Trading on the Network Is Shrinking

YouTube channel Cheeky Crypto pointed out that Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson publicly defended the project’s progress after months of criticism, and shorts betting against ADA were forced to buy back as the price jumped.