Intro
Crypto gurus usually look for juicy long-term investments. If you are not sure whether to invest in more expensive or more budget-friendly projects, this comparison of Cardano vs. Ethereum will help you make informed investment decisions.
What Is Cardano?
The Cardano platform is designed as a solution to security and sustainability problems of the blockchain and as a way to streamline making dApps.
Input Output Hong Kong (IOHK) is a blockchain research and development company founded by Charles Hoskinson, who developed Cardano.
To increase energy efficiency and decrease costs, Cardano uses a PoS consensus mechanism. It also uses a layered architecture with a specific function for each layer.
This layered architecture adds to Cardano’s flexibility and scalability, as one layer can be updated without affecting the others.
Cardano contains two main layers, i.e., the Cardano Settlement Layer (CSL) and the Cardano Computation Layer (CCL).
CSL handles transactions and ensures network security, and CCL provides a space to develop and execute dApps.
Cardano’s native cryptocurrency, ADA, can pay transaction fees or be used to gain staking rewards. Also, the users can create custom tokens on the Cardano network.
Learn More: What Is the Next Cryptocurrency to Explode in 2025?
Cardano Features
- PoS Consensus Mechanism: Cardano uses a PoS algorithm to improve sustainability and energy efficiency.
- Layered Architecture: The layered architecture of Cardano enables it to separate value accounting from smart contracts’ processes and performance, resulting in more flexibility and scalability in the platform.
- Formal Verification: Cardano uses the formal verification method to decrease bugs and vulnerabilities.
- Plutus: Cardano uses the Plutus programming language, which is based on the Haskell language. Plutus is used because of increased security and efficiency.
- Interoperability: Cardano strives to increase its interoperability in transferring data and assets among various blockchains.
- Governance: Thanks to its decentralized governance system, Cardano allows the community to participate in decision-making.
So, to compare Cardano vs. Ethereum, we need to learn about Ethereum and its features first.
What Is Ethereum?
Ethereum, one of the top blockchain-based decentralized platforms, was created in 2015 by Vitalik Buterin, aiming to improve the Bitcoin blockchain.
Bitcoin was created for peer-to-peer payments, but Ethereum was developed to support a wide variety of applications (dApps) and use cases.
One of the most important reasons for Ethereum’s adoption and fame is its ability to execute smart contracts, which lets developers create various dApps, including DeFi platforms, digital identity systems, and supply chain management solutions.
Ethereum’s native cryptocurrency is Ether (ETH), which is used to pay for gas fees on Ethereum transactions and computational services. It can also be used to store value and be a medium of exchange.
Being an open-source network, Ethereum allows anyone to contribute to its development and use the platform to create their own dApps, which has resulted in an active ecosystem of developers and entrepreneurs building on top of the Ethereum platform.
It has also made Ethereum one of the leading blockchain platforms in the world, with various features.
Ethereum Features
- Decentralized Applications (dApps): Ethereum enables developers to build and deploy various dApps on its secure, transparent and tamper-proof blockchain.
- Smart Contracts: Ethereum is home to developing and using smart contracts, providing various opportunities for developers and entrepreneurs.
- Interoperability: Ethereum can connect to other blockchain networks and let developers create cross-chain applications.
- Immutable Ledger: Using a distributed ledger technology, Ethereum records transactions in a tamper-proof and immutable way.
- Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM): It is a runtime environment executing smart contracts on the Ethereum platform.
- Consensus Mechanism: Ethereum has recently upgraded to Ethereum 2.0, a PoS mechanism that minimizes energy consumption and is more environmentally friendly.
- Community-Driven: Ethereum has a large community of developers and contributors, making it a truly decentralized platform.
Now that we’ve learned about the basics and the key features of the two projects, it’s time to compare Cardano vs. Ethereum to see which one is a better long-term investment.
The Key Differences Between Cardano vs. Ethereum
The table below summarizes the key difference between Cardano and Ethereum. The thorough comparison of Ethereum and Cardano regarding price history, ROI, ATH, ATL, consensus mechanism, architecture, roadmap, NFT, fees, transaction speed, and price prediction will follow the table.
Cardano vs. Ethereum: Price History
- Cardano (ADA) started trading on Oct 18, 2017, at $0.02684535.
- Ethereum (ETH) started trading on Aug 07, 2015, at $2.83.
- ADA recorded its first significant rise on Jan 05, 2018, reaching a trading price of $1.08.
- ETH recorded its first significant rise on Jan 13, 2018, reaching a trading price of $1,448.18.
- Cardano spent the next two years in a downtrend, recording its lowest price level of $0.01925275 on Mar 13, 2020.
- Ethereum saw the lowest price level in its early days after launch on Oct 20, 2015, when every ETH was traded at $0.432979.
- After the long downtrend, Cardano recovered and reached $2.29 on May 17, 2021.
- Ethereum went on a downward ride from January 2018 to December 2021 but recovered and reached $3,979.61 on May 11, 2021.
- Cardano kept on moving forward and recorded its highest price level of $3.09 on Sep 02, 2021.
- Ethereum continued its upward trend and reached its highest price level of $4,878.26 on Nov 10, 2021.
- Since its highest price level, Cardano kept on moving downward and was traded at around $0.4517.
- Since its highest price level, Ethereum kept on moving downward and was traded at about $2103.28.
- Since October 2024, ADA coins started an upward trend and today, on Nov 21, 2024, each ADA is traded at about $0.7842.
- Ethereum started an uptrend in February 2024, and today, on Nov 21, 2024, each ETH is traded at about $3,108.72.
Cardano vs. Ethereum: ROI, ATL and ATH
Return on Investment (ROI) shows the profitability of a given coin in different time frames. All-Time Low (ATL) and All-Time High (ATH) show the lowest and highest trading price of a coin, respectively.
The table below compares Cardano vs. Ethereum regarding their current price, ATL, and ATH.
| Price Changes | Cardano | Ethereum |
| ATH | $3.09on Sep 02, 2021 | $4,878.26on Nov 10, 2021 |
| ATL | $0.01925on Mar 13, 2020 | $0.433on Oct 20, 2015 |
| Current Price (Nov 21, 2024) | $0.7842(74.5% lower than its ATH but 3992.8% higher than its ATL) | $3,108.72(36.2% lower than its ATH but 718967.7% higher than its ATL) |
The following table compares Cardano vs. Ethereum regarding their total, annual, monthly, weekly, and daily ROI.
| ROI | Cardano | Ethereum |
| Daily | -0.57% | +0.71% |
| Weekly | +36.08% | -2.28% |
| Monthly | +113.13% | +18.06% |
| Annual | +103.46% | +55.84% |
| Total | +103.46% | +110509.76% |
Other important factors we should go through to compare Cardano vs. Ethereum are:
- Consensus Mechanism,
- Architecture,
- Roadmap,
- NFT,
- Fees,
- Transaction Speed, and
- Price Prediction.
Cardano vs. Ethereum: Consensus Mechanism
Cardano uses a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism where validators (holders of a certain amount of ADA) are selected to create new blocks and validate transactions.
Choosing the validators happens randomly according to the number of coins they hold, and they have to be honest because acting maliciously can result in losing their coins.
Cardano’s PoS algorithm is a variation called Ouroboros, which is aimed to provide more security and resilience against attacks.
Ouroboros works according to a mathematical concept called “the birthday problem,” which generates a random number determining which validators are selected to create new blocks.
Ethereum used to have a Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus mechanism where miners solve complex mathematical puzzles to validate transactions and create new blocks.
The first miner who succeeds in solving the puzzle is rewarded with cryptocurrency, but this process is highly energy-consuming and difficult to scale.
However, Ethereum has released its new version, Ethereum 2.0, which follows a PoS algorithm. But it still faces some problems due to a huge number of users.
Cardano vs Ethereum: Architecture
Both Cardano and Ethereum are decentralized blockchain platforms that allow the creation of dApps and smart contracts. However, their architectures differ in the ways shown in the table below.
Cardano vs. Ethereum: Roadmap
Although Cardano and Ethereum have ambitious roadmaps, they vary in many aspects. Cardano aims to provide a fully decentralized, sustainable, and interoperable platform by completing a series of key milestones, including:
- Byron (Foundation Era): It was launched in 2017, delivered ADA, Cardano’s native cryptocurrency, and launched Daedalus (full-node wallet) and Yoroi (light wallet).
- Shelley (Decentralisation): Cardano’s decentralized mainnet enables staking and earning rewards in exchange for securing the network.
- Goguen (Smart Contracts): It’s a plan to integrate dApps and smart contracts into Cardano to streamline making dApps for developers.
- Basho (Scaling): A plan to improve scalability and interoperability, including implementing sharding and sidechains.
- Voltaire (Governance): It’s the last phase of Cardano’s roadmap, concentrating on enhancing governance and sustainability. It is a treasury system to let stakeholders vote on fund allocation and ensure Cardano’s long-term.
The following image shows where Cardano has taken the above names from!
Ethereum’s roadmap revolves around scalability, security, and decentralization, and has the following aims listed on its roadmap.
- Ethereum 1.0 (Original Network): It was launched in 2015, and pioneered smart contracts, enabling dApps and DeFi. It also operated on Proof of Work (PoW) until 2022.
- The Merge (Switch to PoS): It was launched in September 2022 and replaced PoW via the Beacon Chain. It reduced energy usage by ~99.95%, making Ethereum eco-friendly.
- The Surge (Scalability Phase): It enables sharding that splits the blockchain into smaller shards, enabling higher transaction throughput. During this phase, Ethereum continues developing Layer-2 scaling with rollups (e.g., zk-rollups) to complement sharding.
- The Verge (Statelessness Phase)L It includes introducing Verkle Trees to reduce validator data storage requirements, making nodes lighter and more accessible.
- The Purge (Efficiency Phase): It removes historical data and simplifies the protocol to reduce node resource requirements.
- The Splurge (Finalization Phase): It enhances user experience and stability, and implements minor improvements.
Ethereum 3.0
Ethereum 3.0 focuses on quantum resistance, high scalability, and full decentralization. It includes the following steps:
- Quantum Resistance: Research and implementation of cryptographic algorithms that are resistant to quantum computing threats.
- Complete Statelessness: It includes moving towards a fully “stateless” architecture where validators only need to process small, independent pieces of data. It also reduces hardware requirements, enhancing decentralization.
- Dynamic Sharding: It is a more adaptive and efficient sharding system that adjusts based on network demand. It aims to make Ethereum capable of handling millions of transactions per second.
- Advanced zk-SNARK Integration: It is the full integration of zero-knowledge proofs (zk-SNARKs) for privacy and scalability across all network functions.
All in all, Cardano aims to deliver a fully decentralized and sustainable platform, while Ethereum strives to improve its capabilities and scalability.
Learn More: What Is NFT Staking? Is It Safe? What Are The Best NFTs?
Cardano vs Ethereum: NFT
Both Cardano and Ethereum are big supporters of creating and using Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). The following table displays how their approach to NFTs differ.
All in all, both projects support NFTs, but Cardano is more scalable due to its fewer users, applies a more secure programming language, and has a smaller negative environmental impact. Ethereum has better interoperability and is way more established than Cardano in the NFT space.
Learn More: The Best NFT Marketplaces in 2024 for Beginners by Fee and Volume
Cardano vs Ethereum: Fees
- Ethereum gas fee system requires users to pay for the computational resources needed to execute smart contracts. These fees, known as “gas fees”, are paid in ETH and vary as the network congestion and demand change. When demand is high in the network, gas fees get quite expensive, impeding small-scale users from participating.
- Cardano’s fee system is determined by the network, not the market forces. This system ensures the fees remain stable and predictable, streamlining the planning and budgeting process for the users. Cardano fees are lower than Ethereum fees, especially when there is high congestion in the Ethereum network.
All in all, both projects have developed fee systems to balance the expenses of network resources with users’ accessibility.
However, Cardano’s fee system is more predictable and affordable for small-scale users, while Ethereum’s gas fee system is more flexible and responsive to market conditions.
Cardano vs Ethereum: Transaction Speed
- Ethereum currently processes about 15-45 transactions per second, depending on the network congestion, which can slow down when the network activity is high.
- Cardano’s PoS consensus algorithm enables faster processing of transactions. Currently, Cardano can process over 250 transactions per second. Also, Cardano uses a second-layer scaling solution, ‘Hydra’, to increase transaction speeds. Hydra can support nearly a million TPS, making it one of the fastest blockchains.
Cardano vs. Ethereum: Price Prediction
To help you get a clear picture of the future price of Cardano vs. Ethereum, we’ve provided the price prediction of both projects from 2025 to 2030 in the following table.
| Year | Coin | Min. Price | Ave. Price | Max. Price |
| 2025 | Cardano | $0.5454 | $0.5610 | $0.6587 |
| Ethereum | $3,831 | $3,937 | $4,471 | |
| 2026 | Cardano | $0.7714 | $0.7995 | $0.9432 |
| Ethereum | $5,453 | $5,611 | $6,601 | |
| 2027 | Cardano | $1.08 | $1.12 | $1.33 |
| Ethereum | $7,562 | $7,842 | $9,525 | |
| 2028 | Cardano | $1.57 | $1.62 | $1.90 |
| Ethereum | $11,453 | $11,845 | $13,324 | |
| 2029 | Cardano | $2.21 | $2.29 | $2.72 |
| Ethereum | $16,786 | $17,378 | $20,110 | |
| 2030 | Cardano | $3.15 | $3.26 | $3.83 |
| Ethereum | $23,894 | $24,763 | $29,008 |
Ethereum vs Cardano: Which One Is Better?
- Cardano is currently standing on rank #9 of market cap rankings among all crypto projects, while Ethereum ranks #2.
- Regarding price levels, Cardano is not comparable to Ethereum as each ADA is currently traded at about $0.7842, but each ETH is traded at about $3,108.72.
- However, Cardano can be a good option for those who want to invest a smaller budget in cryptocurrencies and pay fewer fees, as ADA is currently more affordable.
- Price predictions indicate an upward trend for both ADA and ETH; then again, Ethereum has way better price changes predicted, crossing $23,000 by 2030, while each Cardano gets close to $3 by 2030.
- Considering other factors, i.e., consensus mechanism, architecture, roadmap, NFT, fees, transaction speed, and price prediction, Cardano and Ethereum have different approaches, and you need to choose the one that best suits your needs.
Putting it all together, you need to consider your financial situation and preferences, goals, risk tolerance, and, more importantly, the funds you wish to invest in cryptocurrencies and the time you have.
If you are willing to have a long-term investment and have more budget, Ethereum can be a great long-term investment.
However, Cardano can be a better long-term choice for those looking for new projects with more potential.
Summary
The present article compared and contrasted two famous and favourite cryptocurrencies, Cardano vs. Ethereum. To choose the best projects that suit your needs, you need to do your own research, keep an eye on the projects, and study them carefully.
FAQ
You can find the answers to the most frequently asked questions about Cardano vs. Ethereum below.
Is Cardano Better than Ethereum?
Cardano system is more scalable than Ethereum and processes more transactions as it has less congestion. Ethereum has to handle a huge transaction volume, and processing takes longer when users are more.
Can Cardano Replace ETH?
Some optimist Cardano supporters predict that Cardano may surpass Ethereum in the long term.
Does Cardano Have a Future?
According to the price predictions, Cardano can reach $3 by 2030.
