On the surface, **Cardano** seems to check all the boxes for a great crypto value play. It's dirt cheap at just $0.25. It's down more than **90% from its all-time high**, making it a potential rebound candidate. And with a $8.8 billion market cap, it still ranks among the top 15 cryptocurrencies in the world.

Surely, Cardano is too cheap to ignore, right? The answer to that question might not be as simple as it sounds.

## Cardano is fading as an Ethereum rival

One problem is that Cardano is no longer the primary rival to **Ethereum**. That distinction falls to **Solana**, which currently has a market cap of $50 billion, more than 5 times the value of Cardano.

Cardano has had so many chances to catch up to Ethereum, but has whiffed each time. Take **decentralized finance (DeFi)**, for example. Ethereum launched its first **smart contracts** back in 2015, setting the stage for a massive boom in DeFi. Cardano did not introduce smart contracts until 2021, and by then, it was too late.

![Anxious investor with smartphone](https://g.foolcdn.com/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fg.foolcdn.com%2Feditorial%2Fimages%2F870410%2Fanxious-investor-with-smartphone.jpg&w=640&op=resize)

Cardano currently ranks **28th in total value locked (TVL)**, a key metric for determining overall DeFi strength. Even upstart Layer-1 blockchain networks, such as **Aptos** and **Sui**, now rank higher than Cardano. In short, Cardano is fading fast as a potential Ethereum rival.

## Where are the ETFs?

Another problem is that Cardano, despite recent efforts to boost activity on its blockchain, has never been able to win over institutional investors. Case in point: there are still **no spot Cardano ETFs**. **Bitcoin** has spot ETFs. Ethereum has spot ETFs. Solana has spot ETFs. **XRP** has spot ETFs. Even **Dogecoin** has spot ETFs.

So why has Cardano missed out on this opportunity? One possible explanation is that the demand simply does not exist. Institutional investors aren't clamoring for them, so Wall Street investment firms are not rushing to get them out the door. Without a steady influx of institutional investor capital into new spot ETFs, Cardano has little to no chance of pushing higher.

## Is Cardano a value trap?

The only possible conclusion is that Cardano is a **value trap**. Yes, it looks cheap, but there are so many underlying problems that even a price of $0.25 may be too high.

Admittedly, things could change quickly for Cardano. A new strategic framework for 2030 is focused on building up activity on the Cardano blockchain, and that's good news for Cardano's DeFi metrics. Moreover, several Cardano ETF applications are in the regulatory pipeline and could be approved by the end of 2026.

But at the end of the day, there's a good reason Cardano is trading at a 90% discount to its all-time high from 2021. As tempting as it might be to reach into the bargain bin and buy some Cardano right now, the prudent choice is to look for better value elsewhere.

Even at a heavily discounted price, Cardano could be a value trap.

Is Cardano a Bargain or a Trap? Why $0.25 Might Still Be Too Expensive

A tracked onchain wallet has opened a **23x leveraged short position** on ether worth **$100.33 million** via Hyperliquid, with the trade facing automatic **liquidation** if **ETH** climbs just $41 from its entry price.

## Key Takeaways

- Wallet 0x50b3 opened a $100.33M ETH short at 23x leverage on Hyperliquid.
- The position liquidates if ETH reaches $2,149.84, less than 2% above the ~$2,109 entry price.
- Hyperliquid processed over $176B in 30-day trading volume as nine-figure leveraged bets have intensified.

## A Nine-Figure Bet Against Ether

Wallet address 0x50b3 opened a **23x leveraged short** on 47,604 ether (ETH) at an implied entry price of approximately $2,109, putting **$100.33 million in notional exposure** on the line against ethereum’s price. The **liquidation price** is set at **$2,149.84**, meaning the position faces a forced close if ETH rises just $41, a move of less than **2%** from the entry point.

At 23x leverage, the trader’s effective margin covers roughly 4.3% of the position size under standard exchange mechanics, and with ethereum trading near multi-month levels, the cushion is deliberately thin. It is a **high-conviction, high-risk bet** that ETH does not push higher from here.

![Wallet 0x50b3 opened a 23x leveraged short on 47,604 ETH ($100.33M), per Hypurrscan.io](https://static.news.bitcoin.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/trader-opens-100m-eth-short-at-23x-leverage-on-hyperliquid-with-liquidation-just-2-away_nwmk.jpg)

Large leveraged short positions have become quite recurrent on Hyperliquid, with a trader most recently **booking $7.5 million in profits** across ZEC and HYPE longs on the platform before opening a $38.6 million ETH long at 25x leverage.

The pattern is part of a larger, overarching concentration of **nine-figure leveraged activity** on Hyperliquid, with the platform having already processed over **$176 billion in 30-day trading volume** (with open interest exceeding $8 billion heading into late May). Not only that, its revenue for the past 12 months has crossed **$896 million**, and institutional players have increasingly used it for positions of this scale precisely because the onchain settlement removes counterparty risk.

Lastly, with Ether trading in the $2,050–$2,150 range all through May, if the asset is able to push above **$2,149.84** before the trader adds margin (or manually reduces the position), the **liquidation** will be automatic, thus adding the full 47,604 ETH back to available market supply in a single event. The identity of wallet 0x50b3 has not been established.

Wallet 0x50b3 opened a $100.33M ether short at 23x leverage on Hyperliquid on May 25, with automatic liquidation triggered if ETH reaches $2,149.84.

2 weeks ago Bitcoin Articles Digested