Cardano Gains On Plomin Hard Fork Approval, Binance Support: Retail Sentiment Improves

Cardano (ADA) rose 3.5% on Tuesday, amid a broader market rebound from the DeepSeek-triggered rout. This gain comes after the Cardano Foundation approved the highly anticipated Plomin hard fork.

The price movement mirrors broader trends in the crypto market, with Bitcoin (BTC) rising 1.4% above $102,000 and Ethereum (ETH) also gaining 1.4% in the last 24 hours. 

The Plomin upgrade, named in honor of Matthew Plomin, the late CEO of USDM, Cardano’s stablecoin, marks a major shift in Cardano’s governance model. 

The upgrade, scheduled to kick in on Wednesday, will move the network to a more decentralized governance system. 

It is expected to give Cardano holders more control over the network’s governance. Users will be able to vote directly on proposals or delegate their voting rights to a representative, known as a delegated representative (DRep).

The Plomin upgrade for Cardano also brings a notable shift in how users manage their staking rewards. 

Under the new system, investors holding ADA must select a DRep to withdraw their future staking rewards. Users will continue earning rewards but cannot access them without making this choice.

While users will still earn ADA rewards, they won’t be able to withdraw them until a DRep is chosen. 

The Cardano Foundation (CF) approved the hard fork, voting as part of the Interim Constitution Committee (ICC), tasked with overseeing protocol changes.

“The governance action to hard fork to Protocol Version 10 (“Plomin”) is constitutional. It fulfills all procedural requirements, enables CIP-1694 governance and Plutus primitives, and complies with guardrails,” the Cardano Foundation said in a post on X (formerly known as Twitter).

Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, also announced its support for the Plomin upgrade. 

During the transition, Binance will suspend ADA deposits and withdrawals, although trading will proceed without interruption.

Despite the positive news, Cardano's price remains below $1, a critical psychological level. 

Cardano Sentiment and Message Volume on Jan.28 as of 11:30 a.m. ET | Source: Stocktwits

Sentiment on Stocktwits around Cardano improved to the ‘neutral’ zone from ‘bearish’ a day ago. However, chatter dipped to ‘low’ from ‘high’ volumes.

Retail investors on the platform celebrated Cardano’s bounce back above the 100-day exponential moving average (EMA).

Others speculated that further announcements from President Donald Trump in support of cryptocurrencies could boost ADA's price.

Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has been pushing for broader blockchain adoption in the U.S. government since Trump’s election win in November. 

Reports suggest he plans to open a policy office in Washington, D.C., to advocate for pro-crypto regulations. 

He also expressed interest in assisting Elon Musk’s efforts to integrate blockchain into the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). 

Over the past year, Cardano’s price has surged by 92%, with a 7% gain in the last month.

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Read also: XRP Price Rallies As Ripple Secures Key U.S. Licenses Amid Trump’s Pro-Crypto Stance: Retail Sentiment Improves