Peter Smith
In a surprising twist for the altcoin market, Cardano (ADA) has emerged as one of the top performers over the past year — outperforming not only Solana (SOL), its frequent competitor in the Layer 1 space, but also Ethereum (ETH), the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap. While many investors were focused on Bitcoin’s ETF momentum and Ethereum's ecosystem upgrades, ADA quietly delivered a triple-digit return that’s hard to ignore.
A new chart circulating highlights just how far ADA has climbed in the last 12 months — showing a sharp contrast to the more muted moves from SOL and ETH. Let’s break down the data.
ADA's Explosive Growth Leaves SOL Trailing
Cardano (ADA) has significantly outperformed Solana (SOL) over the past year. ADA peaked with a remarkable gain exceeding +225%, while SOL barely held above the +50% mark at its best, and is now hovering close to 0% year-on-year.
Even though both assets have seen a downturn since their peaks earlier in 2025, ADA remains strongly positive — currently sitting around +50%, while SOL has retraced nearly all of its gains.
What About Ethereum (ETH)?
Although Ethereum (ETH) is not displayed on the chart, market data from leading aggregators indicates that ETH posted sub-100% gains during the same period — well below Cardano’s performance. While ETH remained relatively stable due to its institutional use and DeFi dominance, ADA's surge has caught many analysts by surprise.
This aligns with the trader’s post, highlighting that ADA has quietly outperformed ETH and SOL in the past 12 months — a fact that has flown under the radar in broader market discussions.
Conclusion
Cardano’s standout performance — rising over 200% in a 12-month window — reflects increasing investor confidence and speculative momentum. With an upcoming ETF narrative swirling and strong technical support, ADA may continue to surprise markets. Meanwhile, SOL and ETH remain solid contenders, but have yet to match ADA’s pace in this cycle.
Peter Smith
