Cardano has seen increased interest, especially for its dApps, for the better part of the past two months, with most of it fueled by the Vasil upgrade that took place towards the end of September. As a result, the trading volume for NFTs on the platform has skyrocketed, making it the 3rd largest NFT protocol only behind Ethereum and Solana.
This is according to DappRadar, an analytics firm that covers blockchain and decentralized applications. Cardano’s NFT trading volume for the 30-day period ending on September 30 totaled over $191 million, making it the third best only behind Ethereum and Solana, which managed $338 million and $116 million, respectively, within the same period.
Cardano’s largest marketplace also saw its trading volume spike by over 40% this quarter to reach $11.2 million. That said, the Cardano NFT trading volume would have surpassed Solana’s and even challenged Ethereum if only the top 10 marketplaces ranked by DappRadar offered its NFTs. The lack of support has severely limited the NFTs’ accessibility for individuals operating outside the protocol’s ecosystem.
Even though the data by DappRadar covers September, October has also seen interest in Cardano NFTs keep rising. Some have speculated that NFT traders are dumping Solana NFTs for Cardano NFTs.
Vasil Upgrade Has Helped Cardano Become The 3rd Largest NFT Protocol
As noted earlier, Cardano NFT trading volume has been boosted by the launch of Vasil. This much-awaited network upgrade was pushed back several times to the frustration of Cardano proponents.
The update makes the protocol more scalable by increasing its operating capacity and reducing transaction time. The upgrade also saw the launch of Plutus V2, Cardano’s smart contract language, making it easy for developers to build on the chain.
Cardano, whose code is peer-reviewed, has long been seen as an Ethereum killer. It prides itself on being a third-generation blockchain that optimizes scalability, interoperability, and sustainability, making it ideal for developers of large projects. However, development has been slow, and this has seen the project stagnate.
