Cardano Alonzo hard fork is imminent and it could fuel ADA run to $5

Cardano inches closer to smart contract deployment and gears up for a bullrun ahead of the Alonzo hardfork.The altcoin’s price may briefly retrace before rallying further.

ADA set to rally ahead of Alonzo hardfork and smart contract launch

Cardano’s Project Catalyst is a series of experiments that brings on-chain governance to the Cardano blockchain and allows participants to deploy funding to proposals that tackle the most challenges. The fifth series of funds were deployed to successful projects and support was initiated for the next series, Fund6.

It is expected that projects that are part of Project Catalyst will go live on the Cardano network once smart contract functionality is live.

The update comes within a week of Input Output Hong Kong (IOHK), a public blockchain that hosts Cardano, which launched a public testnet for smart contract integration. This announcement marks the first time a public testnet hosts exchanges, developers, and graduates of ADA’s programs ahead of the Alonzo hardfork. 

Once the team has been onboarded, the Alonzo Purple upgrade is imminent. Alonzo Purple is the third and final stage of the three-stage upgrade to the Cardano network. 

IOHK recently revealed the news in a series of tweets

Charles Hoskinson, CEO, and Founder of IOHK, recently slammed critics of the project and commented on the launch of smart contracts. 

Traders have a bullish outlook on Cardano in light of recent events, as the altcoin’s price has surged 21.8% in the last two weeks and could potentially rally to $5. ADA has crossed the 2018 high of $1.39. This is a critical price level since the altcoin failed to close above $1.39 for five out of the last six months.

The attempt to close above the critical price level in May 2021 was followed by a reversal from the high. At the time of writing, ADA is trading at $1.56. If the price drops below the critical level of $1.39, it may briefly retrace before hitting $5 in this bullrun.