Cardano (ADA) Reaches All-Time High As Smart Contract Functionality Launches On Testnet

What Happened: The Cardano ADA/USD blockchain saw its native token’s price breach the all-important $3 mark earlier today.

At the time of writing, ADA was trading at $3.00 after gaining 4.41% over the last 24-hours and around 20% over the last seven days.

Leading up to the breakout in price was the successful launch of smart contracts on the Cardano blockchain’s testnet.

So there we have it. Since c. 20:20 UTC today, the #Cardano Testnet now officially supports #Plutus #smartcontracts. Final testing & integrations ahead. SPOs will now upgrade their mainnet nodes. Then next stop… mainnet upgrade. Still on track for 12 September. Onward! $ADA pic.twitter.com/Wl5CUpRB4L

— Input Output (@InputOutputHK) September 1, 2021

The testnet is a version of the blockchain network that is used to test and experiment with new functionalities before it is implemented on the mainnet, or the actual network.

After smart contract functionality is successfully implemented on Cardano, the Proof-of-Stake (PoS) blockchain will be on par with platforms like Ethereum ETH/USD and Solana SOL/USD that already support the creation and use of decentralized applications (dApps).

Aside from the upcoming network upgrades, another bullish catalyst for the cryptocurrency in recent weeks has been the massive inflow of funds from institutional investors.

Over the past seven days, weekly inflows to Cardano investment products exceeded a record $10 million. The week before, it led inflows to crypto products even as Bitcoin BTC/USD and Ethereum saw outflows of $24 million.

Read Next: Cardano Founder Sees Bigger Role For Crypto In Afghanistan After US Withdrawal