Cardano (ADA) has been a prominent player in the cryptocurrency market for years, consistently ranking among the top digital assets by market capitalization. Despite its recognition, some investors are skeptical about its long-term performance. While it gained attention for being included in US President Donald Trump's initial proposal for a national crypto stockpile, its price movement and onchain activity paint a different picture, leading to some labeling it as a "zombie." Recent research indicates that the Cardano network lags behind in decentralized finance (DeFi) adoption compared to Ethereum and Solana, struggling to attract liquidity and stablecoin activity. With newer blockchains surpassing it in user engagement and trading volume, the question arises whether upcoming developments can reverse this trend. The potential for an ADA exchange-traded fund (ETF) and its role in Bitcoin's DeFi ecosystem could make 2025 a crucial year for ADA, but the question remains whether these advancements will be sufficient to change its trajectory. To delve deeper into the current state of Cardano's native token, check out the full video on the Cointelegraph YouTube channel.