Practice Cardano trading with $500 in demo money.
Cardano lost more than half its price in the 12 months to Oct 10, 2026, -62.0%. Practice trading it with $500 in demo money in the Staxo app, at real market prices, before you put your own money on it.
Free on iPhone and Android. Cardano is on the free plan. Also on Google Play.Also on the App Store.
- 1-year change-62.0%$0.6553 to $0.2488
- Volatility76.2%annualized, Bitcoin 44.3%
- Max drawdown-80.3%Oct 2025 to Jun 2026
- Days with a 5%+ move6534 up, 31 down
Kraken ADAUSD daily closes (UTC), Oct 10, 2025 to Oct 10, 2026. Rebuilt every week from the saved data.
Cardano over the last 12 months
The year started near the top. Cardano's highest close in the window, $0.7295, came on Oct 13, 2025, and the lowest, $0.1435, on Jun 25, 2026, 255 days later. Bitcoin bottomed 5 days later, so the two lows came within a week of each other. Over the 12 months Cardano fell 62.0%, 35.4 percentage points worse than Bitcoin (-26.6%). It closed higher on 151 of the 365 days, and 4 of the 11 full calendar months ended higher. The best month was September 2026 (+24.6%), the worst June 2026 (-38.7%).
Cardano was the most volatile of the eight free-plan coins at 76.2% a year, 1.7x Bitcoin's. It moved more than 5% on 65 days, roughly one day in 6, more often up than down. Its worst day was Bitcoin's worst day too, Feb 5, 2026: Cardano fell 14.3% while Bitcoin fell 13.9%. The biggest one-day rise was +15.2% on Aug 21, 2026, the biggest fall -14.3% on Feb 5, 2026. On a typical day the price moved 2.38% either way (the median daily move).
From its peak of $0.7295 on Oct 13, 2025 it fell 80.3% to $0.1435 on Jun 25, 2026. The rebound from that low reached 88.6%, yet the last close was still 65.9% under the peak.
How Cardano compared with the other seven
- No other coin on the free plan lost as much over the 12 months.
- Its 80.3% maximum drawdown was the deepest of the eight.
- No other coin here had as many days with a move above 5% (65).
| Close on Oct 10, 2025 | $0.6553 |
|---|---|
| Close on Oct 10, 2026 | $0.2488 |
| 1-year change | -62.0% |
| Highest close | $0.7295 on Oct 13, 2025 |
| Lowest close | $0.1435 on Jun 25, 2026 |
| Annualized volatility | 76.2% (Bitcoin 44.3%) |
| Median daily move | 2.38% |
| Days that closed higher | 151 of 365 |
| Days with a move over 5% | 65 (34 up, 31 down) |
| Best day | +15.2% on Aug 21, 2026 |
| Worst day | -14.3% on Feb 5, 2026 |
| Maximum drawdown | -80.3%, Oct 13, 2025 to Jun 25, 2026 |
| Months that ended higher | 4 of 11 full months |
| Best and worst month | September 2026 +24.6%, June 2026 -38.7% |
| Correlation with Bitcoin | 0.80 (same direction on 82% of days) |
Cardano DCA vs one buy, with $500 of demo money
Buying weekly cut the loss but did not remove it. $500 spread over 52 weekly buys was worth $480.93 on Oct 10, 2026 (-3.8%); a single buy on Oct 10, 2025 would have left $189.84 (-62.0%).
The weekly buys paid an average of $0.2587 per ADA, 60.5% less than the $0.6553 of the single buy, because 50 of the 52 buys came after the price had dropped below its starting level.
Only 22 of the 52 buys were below the final price of $0.2488; the rest were still under water at the end.
One buy on Oct 10, 2025
$189.84
-62.0%
$500 bought 763 ADA at $0.6553.
52 weekly buys of $9.62
$480.93
-3.8%
1,933 ADA at an average of $0.2587.
How the test was calculated
- Prices: Kraken ADAUSD daily closes (UTC), Oct 10, 2025 to Oct 10, 2026.
- One buy: $500 at the Oct 10, 2025 close of $0.6553, valued at the Oct 10, 2026 close of $0.2488.
- Weekly buys: $500 / 52 = $9.62 at the close of every seventh day from Oct 10, 2025 to Oct 2, 2026, 1,933 ADA in total, valued at the same last close.
- No fees, no spread, fractional coins allowed. Run other amounts and schedules in the DCA calculator.
What is Cardano?
Cardano is a proof-of-stake blockchain for smart contracts, launched in 2017 and founded by Charles Hoskinson, one of the co-founders of Ethereum. Its coin is ADA, named after Ada Lovelace. The maximum supply is 45 billion ADA. ADA holders can stake their coins to help run the network and earn rewards.
More in the guide What are altcoins?
How to practice Cardano trading in Staxo
- Step 1
Download Staxo and get $500
Staxo is free on iPhone and Android. Create your account in the app and your demo wallet starts with $500, plus a daily bonus when you come back.
- Step 2
Find Cardano in the Market tab
Cardano (ADA) is one of the 10 coins on the free plan, so you can buy and sell it with market orders, up to 10 trades a day. At the Oct 10, 2026 close of $0.2488, $500 bought about 2,010 ADA.
- Step 3
Start with a small slice
Cardano swung hard in this window: a typical day moved 2.38%, and its worst day, Feb 5, 2026, would have taken $14.26 off a $100 position. Begin with a slice of the $500 you would not mind losing in one bad day, then use the position size calculator to turn it into a trade size.
- Step 4
Test weekly buys against one buy
In this window weekly buying lost less than one buy but still lost. Split $200 of your demo money: $100 in ADA at once, $100 in ten weekly buys of $10, and see which half is ahead after ten weeks.
- Step 5
Add shorts and leverage with Pro
Staxo Pro adds short selling and leverage (1x, 2x and 5x). A short gains when the price falls, and Cardano closed lower on 214 of the 365 days here. Leverage multiplies every move: at 5x, the -14.3% of its worst day would have meant a 71.3% loss on the position.
Free plan: 10 coins including Cardano, market orders, up to 10 trades a day, 6 courses. Pro: $1.99 for the first month, then $8.99 a month or $59.99 a year, for all top 100 coins, all 42 courses, short selling and leverage.
Cardano practice questions
Can I practice Cardano trading for free?
Yes. Cardano (ADA) is on Staxo's free plan: you start with $500 in demo money and can trade it with market orders, up to 10 trades a day, on iPhone or Android. At the Oct 10, 2026 close, $500 bought about 2,010 ADA. Pro adds short selling and leverage.
How volatile was Cardano over the last year?
From Oct 10, 2025 to Oct 10, 2026, Cardano's annualized volatility was 76.2% (Bitcoin: 44.3%). It moved more than 5% in a day 65 times. The biggest daily rise was +15.2% on Aug 21, 2026 and the biggest fall -14.3% on Feb 5, 2026.
What would $500 in Cardano a year ago be worth now?
$500 of Cardano bought at the Oct 10, 2025 close of $0.6553 was worth $189.84 on Oct 10, 2026 (-62.0%). Spread over 52 weekly buys of $9.62, the same $500 was worth $480.93 (-3.8%). No fees are included.
What was Cardano's biggest drop in the last year?
Cardano fell 80.3% from $0.7295 on Oct 13, 2025 to $0.1435 on Jun 25, 2026, over 255 days. By Oct 10, 2026 it had not returned to that peak: the last close, $0.2488, was 65.9% below it.
Does Cardano move with Bitcoin?
Over the 365 days to Oct 10, 2026, Cardano moved closely with Bitcoin: both closed in the same direction on 82% of days, and the correlation of their daily returns was 0.80 (1 means they always move together).
Keep practicing
Coins that moved like Cardano
Over the same 365 days, Cardano's daily moves matched Dogecoin most closely (correlation 0.88), then XRP (0.83).
Practice Cardano with $500 in demo money.
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Educational content, not investment advice. The figures describe Cardano's price from Oct 10, 2025 to Oct 10, 2026 and say nothing about where it goes next. Staxo is a simulator: you practice with demo money, never real money.