Cardano catches up with Solana and Terra as ADA hits new all-time high

• Cardano's market cap has crossed $79 billion, nearly 20% of the second biggest crypto, ETH.
• ADA rallied over 85% in August in response to the upcoming Alonzo hard fork and smart contract upgrade announcements. 
• Cardano's competitors Solana (SOL) and Terra (LUNA) have surged by over 40% in the past two days.
• The Ethereum killers are competing for a larger share of the decentralized application ecosystem. 

Cardano, Solana, and Terra surge in value, challenging Ethereum's dominance in the DeFi landscape. 

Ethereum killers hit a new all-time high, enjoy high daily trade volume and market capitalization

The Crypto community's interest in Cardano hit a peak ahead of its smart contract functionality launch. The third-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, ADA's price is up nearly 20% in the past day, and it is currently in the price discovery mode. 

ADA has emerged as the biggest crypto to hit a new all-time high (ATH) after over $1 trillion was wiped off the broader cryptocurrency market in the last few weeks. ADA is accompanied by rivals SOL and LUNA in its race to power decentralized applications on its blockchain, directly competing with Ethereum. 

The three altcoins have witnessed a renewed interest from crypto-enthusiasts since the number one crypto Bitcoin started trading sideways. The price of both SOL and LUNA is up over 40% in the past 48 hours, and all three "Ethereum killers" have hit new ATH. 

Despite the rampant security issues in the DeFi ecosystem, traders are optimistic about the three projects. This is evident from the increase in daily trade volume across exchanges. 

ADA is priced the least among the three and enjoys the largest market capitalization. The recent slew of announcements from Input Output Hong Kong (IOHK), the blockchain company behind Cardano, and CEO Charles Hoskinson has led to higher anticipation of smart contract functionality in the trading community. 

Recently IOHK shared a developer update with detailed progress of the Alonzo hard fork and the smart contract functionality tests on Twitter. 

When compared to the July 2021 low of $1, Cardano's historic rise to $2.50 has unseated Binance Coin as the third-largest cryptocurrency. ADA price has gained 150% in less than 50 days, turning traders bullish on its potential for a breakout. 

Simon Dedic, a managing partner of Moonrock Capital, a blockchain advisory and investment partnership, acknowledged the growth of the three "Ethereum killers."
 

Cardano, Solana, and Terra have witnessed a surge in social dominance alongside the price rally as the protocol wars continue. 

Analysts at FXStreet expect the Cardano rally to continue as it is primed for hitting new all-time highs.