Can Cardano Save Kadena? Hoskinson Reaches Out After KDA Token Plunges 60% Amid Shutdown

Kadena has announced it was shutting down operations, sending its KDA price into a freefall. In light of this, Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson publicly offered to connect with the project’s community. This has led to speculation of a potential partnership.

Cardano Founder Extends a Hand to Kadena

In a post on X, Charles Hoskinson signaled possible support or partnership discussions in the wake of the network’s turmoil. His outreach came just hours after Kadena issued a public announcement confirming that the company behind the blockchain could no longer sustain operations.

According to Kadena’s official statement, all business activity and active maintenance have been halted due to harsh market conditions. The remaining team will only oversee the network’s transition process. 

“We regret that because of market conditions, we are unable to continue promoting and supporting adoption,” the team wrote.

Despite the shutdown, the blockchain itself remains functional since it operates on a decentralized proof-of-work model. This would be maintained by independent miners and governed by community developers. The platform assured users that it would release a final software update to ensure continued operation without the company’s involvement.

The organization also emphasized that the KDA token would continue to circulate, with over 566 million tokens still set for distribution through mining rewards until 2139. However, investor sentiment appears shaken as confidence in long-term network development fades.

The Cardano founder usually signals an openness to cross-ecosystem collaboration. In August, he discussed a potential partnership with XRP and confirmed that Lace Wallet would soon support XRP transactions.

KDA Price Collapses Amid Allegations and Low Liquidity

The Kadena token crash reflects years of declining traction. After reaching an all-time high of $27.64 in 2021, the KDA price has now collapsed by over 99%. The coin plunged to $0.089 in the past 24 hours,  a 60% single-day drop following the shutdown announcement.

Data also showed that KDA’s 24-hour trading volume fell to around $48 million. Notably, traders accused the team of some manipulation, though no verified evidence has surfaced to support the claims.

This quarter’s strong inflows across major blockchains like Solana and Cardano stand in stark contrast to the platform’s liquidity crisis. Since early 2022, KDA has not been able to regain significant investor confidence, despite sporadic upticks during short “micro altseasons.”

Kadena was founded in 2017 by Stuart Popejoy and Will Martino, both former JPMorgan executives. The project’s goal was to develop a safe, scalable Layer-1 substitute for Ethereum. 

However, despite its technical promise, Kadena struggled to attract sustainable developer activity and user adoption. Even as recently as this year, the team introduced initiatives like the $50 million Leap Grant Program to reignite growth.