Cardano's DeFi Challenge is Coordination, Not Technology: Hoskinson Pushes RealFi and Bitcoin Integration

Cardano's (ADA) low Decentralized Finance (DeFi) volume is primarily a "coordination" issue within its community, not a technological one, according to founder Charles Hoskinson. He is shifting the platform's focus away from chasing the Total Value Locked (TVL) race and toward integrating with Bitcoin (BTC) and utilizing real-world lending (RealFi) to inject external liquidity.

The "Coordination Problem"

Hoskinson clarified that Cardano's low DeFi numbers do not reflect its true user base. He emphasized that over 1.3 million users are already staking ADA and participating in governance, but most of them do not engage with DeFi protocols.

• The Vicious Cycle: This non-participation creates a "chicken and egg" problem, where low on-chain activity drives away liquidity and potential partners.
• Hoskinson's Assessment: He explicitly stated the issue is not with the technology, execution, or creativity, but fundamentally a "problem of governance and coordination and ultimately accountability and responsibility."

Strategic Solutions: Midnight and RealFi

To break this cycle, Hoskinson is championing two key solutions:

1. Midnight: Designed to facilitate the linking of ADA with BTC.
2. RealFi: Focuses on real-world lending.

These pillars are intended to allow capital to flow into Cardano from outside the crypto ecosystem. Hoskinson believes this integration could unlock "billions of dollars," particularly once ADA and BTC can be lent, converted into stablecoins, and utilized within real credit markets.

Discrepancy Between Metrics

• TVL Gap: Cardano's DeFi TVL sits at a modest $271 million, significantly dwarfed by Ethereum's ($85.5 billion) and Solana's ($11.29 billion).
• Building Momentum: Despite the low TVL, Santiment data shows Cardano's Development Activity index recently surpassed both ETH and SOL, indicating strong and consistent builder momentum.

This contradiction suggests Cardano does not have a demand problem but an "activation problem" for its existing user base.

ADA Price and Momentum

At press time, the ADA token was trading around $0.60 and showed weak technical momentum. The price remained below all major Exponential Moving Averages (EMAs), and indicators like the RSI and CMF suggested sellers still controlled the broader trend, with no strong capital inflows yet returning.

November 2025, Cryptoniteuae