- Grayscale Investments increased Cardano to 20.12% of its Smart Contract Fund.
- ADA is now the fund’s third-largest holding behind Solana and Ethereum.
- Allocation rise comes despite muted network growth and subdued ADA price performance.
Grayscale Investments has increased Cardano’s share in its Smart Contract Fund to 20.12%, up from 19.50%. The change reflects consecutive small adjustments rather than a single large rebalance. Cardano is now the fund’s third-largest holding, behind Solana and Ethereum, indicating continued institutional exposure even amid subdued price performance.
Institutional Allocation Signals Steady Exposure
Grayscale’s Smart Contract Fund offers diversified exposure to leading blockchain platforms supporting DeFi and application infrastructure. Cardano’s allocation rose from 19.50% to just above 20% according to publicly disclosed fund data.
While ADA has recently traded near $0.28, well below previous cycle highs, the incremental increase signals sustained institutional confidence. No official explanation has been provided for the weighting adjustment, which typically reflects broader portfolio strategy.
Analysts, including Zach Humphries, have noted that Cardano’s growing initiatives in Bitcoin-based DeFi could attract institutional interest. Projects such as Cardinal, Cardano’s first Bitcoin DeFi protocol, allow BTC holders to bridge and stake assets within Cardano’s extended UTXO model.
These cross-chain functionalities may position ADA as a smart contract layer supporting Bitcoin liquidity, although no direct confirmation links Grayscale’s allocation shift to these efforts.
Network Activity and Ecosystem Developments
The allocation increase comes as Cardano’s network activity remains below peak 2021 levels. Fewer new projects have launched recently, and transaction volumes are subdued. Periods of consolidation are common as ecosystems transition between development cycles. Cardano’s roadmap continues to include infrastructure upgrades, privacy-focused features, and expanded interoperability.
Similarly, Coinbase has made ADA eligible for on-chain lending through the Morpho protocol. U.S. customers, excluding New York residents, can borrow up to $100,000 in USDC against ADA holdings. The lending platform has processed over $1.9 billion in loan originations across supported assets, demonstrating growing utility for Cardano in structured financial services.
Grayscale’s measured increase highlights institutional positioning in ADA, even as broader network metrics reflect slower growth. The move emphasizes steady exposure through diversified smart contract investment products rather than tactical short-term trades.
