With the cryptocurrency industry evolving daily, Cardano remains a major market player that has been the center of attention this week. 

Recent data shared by TapTools via X shows that more than 78% of Cardano's total supply is now in circulation.

Hence, it is one of the most widely distributed cryptocurrencies in the market today.

Cardano's path mirrors Bitcoin's scarcity playbook

With this milestone, Cardano (ADA) is now second only to Bitcoin in terms of circulating supply among the top ten cryptocurrencies. The high circulating supply suggests that a large percentage of ADA tokens are in the hands of the public, offering greater transparency and market stability.

In contrast, most other digital assets have a large percentage of their supply locked up, creating the possibility of inflation in the future. A key point of interest in Cardano is that it has a fixed supply, like Bitcoin.

Hence, no additional ADA tokens will be minted beyond its maximum cap. This is a rare feature in the crypto market, as most tokens have flexible or unlimited supply models.

Cardano follows Bitcoin's philosophy of capping its supply. While Bitcoin's supply is capped at 21 million coins, ADA's supply is capped at 45 billion, according to CoinMarketCap data. 

This approach is appealing to those who hold their digital assets for the long-term value they bring.

Like gold, which remains valuable over time, cryptocurrencies with a capped supply aim to achieve the same purpose.

Cardano's market demand to become a key price driver

Cardano is approaching full market saturation with 78% of its supply already in circulation. Hence, genuine demand will determine ADA price movements and help lower inflationary pressure over time.

By comparison, BTC's recognized status as "digital gold" is partly due to its fixed cap and over 90% of its supply in circulation. 

The latest CoinMarketCap data shows that ADA trades at $0.7341 after gaining 10.97% in value over the past 24 hours.

Ranked the ninth cryptocurrency based on market cap, ADA's trading volume is $1.1 billion, up 70.7% within the same period. In addition, Cardano's volume/market cap ratio of 4.27% indicates healthy trading activity relative to its overall size.