It is said that Bitcoin is 20% technology and 80% religion. So is it true that Cardano is 80% technology and 20% religion? This would be a gross oversimplification, but there may be some truth to it. The missions of the two projects are different, so it makes sense that different paths lead to adoption. Let us examine this phenomenon from many different angles and in different contexts. TLDR: The Bitcoin community is paying more attention to coins. The Cardano community is more focused on technology and the network. The legitimate market capitalization usually reflects the actual utility. Market capitalization can lag utility. Bitcoin seems to be a better project for dealing with inflation, while Cardano is better suited for dealing with the problem of the existence of inefficient third parties. There is no one-size-fits-all solution to all problems Bitcoin is considered by the community as a finished project that will develop very conservatively and minimally. Bitcoin's mission is to become digital gold or global money independent of the state. The community believes that Bitcoin is ready for this mission. All development takes place outside the first layer. The future is all about adoption. That's probably why they say Bitcoin is 80% religion. Most community members are holding bitcoins and just waiting for a better tomorrow. By better tomorrows, they specifically mean the growth in the value of BTC coins, which will be driven by wider adoption. In particular, Bitcoin's high capitalization is considered a success. Stagnation or decline would be considered a mission failure. The mission of the Cardano project is tied to a technology that will never be finished. Cardano will be continually improved to achieve the goal to become a global social and financial operating system. It makes sense to say that Cardano is 80% technology. The community knows that the future will depend largely on what technology allows us to do. Therefore, technology and its usage need to be constantly debated and improved. At the same time, it is important that third-party teams use the technology and build specific services. Cardano is a platform that someone else must use to build their own business. The success of the Cardano mission is considered to be an alternative decentralized financial system that will provide similar services to current banking services. These services must be used by people outside the cryptocurrency bubble. If I had to describe the mood of the Bitcoin community in one word, I would say it is waiting. The Cardano community is probably best described as a building community. Different paths lead to success. In the case of Bitcoin, demand for BTC coins must grow. Bitcoins are traded on centralized exchanges, so there is no technological barrier to meeting the goal. The Bitcoin community watches the charts and waits to see when an institution or company decides to buy. If people are going to pay with bitcoins on a regular basis, it will be through other networks. Users pay more attention to BTC coins than to the network. In the case of Cardano, demand for the use of the technology must grow and it is not yet ready for the mainstream. Increasing scalability, improving and expanding the capabilities of the Plutus platform, building applications, decentralized identity, decentralized governance, and other things are the main goals. Users pay more attention to the network than to ADA coins. More specifically, users using stablecoins, for example, do not need to care much about ADA coins. When transaction fees can be paid with tokens, they may not even know about ADA coins. ADA coins will get the attention of stakers and those interested in project governance. 80/20 reloaded It would be a mistake if the reader were to conclude that Cardano and Bitcoin are completely different projects that have nothing in common. The success of both projects is based on decentralization. In both cases, both technology and belief are important. Technology is the foundation around which communities are formed. Don't take the 80/20 ratio literally. There are people who will tell you that Cardano has no technology and is only about religion. In a way, they are making Cardano a Bitcoin, and paradoxically there would be nothing wrong with that. You could say that people just believe in different digital gold and different money. Similarly, there will be people who will say that Bitcoin has the best technology because it uses PoW. They won't mind that Bitcoin has a low Nakamoto coefficient, scales poorly, and a new block is created after a ten-minute delay. They will not consider technology with other properties, including Cardano, relevant because of PoS. Even here there is no point in talking anyone out of this opinion. It is fair to say that both components are represented. The ratio between technology and religion is not that important. Bitcoin will never be a smart contract platform, but DeFi may arise on some other layer. Project Cardano's mission is not to become digital gold, but that doesn't mean there won't be demand for ADA coins. There are people who talk about stocks as a store of value. If they see it as a hedge against fiat currencies and are able to assess the risks well, it can work. There is no significant difference between ADA and BTC coins on a technological level in terms of digital scarcity. The difference is mainly in the minds of the people. ADA can be seen as a store of value. Holding coins is considered by some to be a utility (holding is using). The utility of the blockchain network can be seen as a passive activity in the sense that it is not so important to use the network for daily P2P interaction. While this partially defeats the purpose of the network, there is something to this view as well. If you see cryptocurrencies as a hedge against inflation, do you wonder to what extent technology is important and to what extent it is a religion? Probably most people don't think about that. Hodler wants more people to believe in the project. Another group of users wants the technological capabilities of the networks to grow. Each project has some representation from both groups. Simply put, Bitcoin seems like a better project for dealing with inflation, while Cardano is better suited for dealing with the problem of the existence of inefficient third parties. Nothing is set in stone. Narratives can change. When to expect success? Great expectations can lead to great disappointment. If you are part of the group waiting for cryptocurrencies to rise in value, you may be frustrated by the bear market. After all, no one knows how disruptive technology will evolve. What should the value of a particular cryptocurrency be in 2025? What about in 2030, or 2035? Nobody knows. If you follow influencers who have nothing else to do but play prophet and estimate the future value of coins, you may be disappointed over time that their estimate didn't pan out. As an investor or speculator, you may perceive a stagnant price as a failure. Interestingly, this may be slightly worse news for Bitcoin than for Cardano. The success of the Cardano project will obviously affect the market capitalization of the project, but it is not true that if the price does not grow, the usability of the network fails. In other words, for people in developing countries, Cardano will be financially and socially very useful, and adoption can be considered a success. Growing success does not always have to correlate with market capitalization. The value of coins can fall or rise based on speculation. As the utility of a project rises, it is logical that capitalization should rise. However, the markets may not perceive this correctly. Market capitalization may lag behind utility. The justified market capitalization usually reflects the real utility. Without utility, capitalization is merely the result of speculation. The utility may be perceived differently by different people. As we have already explained, the very existence of coins and the growing group of people who demand coins are useful to the holders. Alternative financial services will be useful to a different group. The two groups may have an intersection. There are people who want to hold coins and use DeFi at the same time. In the case of a utility built on network use, it is the same as with value growth in subsequent years. It is difficult to define what should be considered a success in a particular year. Will it be a success if in 2025 the state adopts the network and builds the backbone of the financial system on top of it? Shouldn't it be at least 2 states by then? Or 4? Again, no one will tell you this. Some people say that the adoption of cryptocurrencies is very fast in the context of the adoption of other technologies. Others will tell you otherwise. We can try a little mental exercise. Imagine the year 2030. Is it realistic for a cryptocurrency to become a global store of value? Is it realistic for a volatile cryptocurrency to replace fiat currencies? Is it realistic for alternative financial services to emerge on the blockchain? Is it possible for developing countries to skip the client-server architecture and use decentralized services? Will most traditional banks use blockchain technology? Will IT giants like Google, Amazon, Facebook, and others use tokens? In all cases, we are talking about mainstream adoption of say around 30% of the population. I'm sure you can think of other questions. Try to answer these questions yourself. Everyone may have a different opinion on this. But if someone tells you that one is inevitable and the other is not going to happen, be careful. Technologies are unpredictable and no one can say in advance how they will be used most in the future and for what. Will the world use smart contracts, tokenization, decentralized identity, stablecoins, or Oracle services? Will the mainstream really be interested in P2P transactions? What can strict regulations change? Time will best answer these questions. Conclusion People are impatient and would like to see success tomorrow. Bitcoin fans may feel that the path to success is easier as the technology is ready. So it is enough just waiting for adoption. Cardano is not ready for third-party developers to take full advantage of the potential of decentralization. The road to success may be longer and more complex. People should be more aware of what stage of development a project is in and what lies ahead. They should perceive information in the right context. For example, it is foolish to measure success by the current market capitalization of projects when you know that Cardano's success is built on network usability. The team needs to address scalability first then the mass adoption can begin.
