Cardano (ADA) posted a new all-time high today of $1.68. Several events have contributed to this. Most recently, U.S. exchange Kraken announced the addition of ADA staking on its platform. There’s also the feel-good factor still lingering from the Africa deals.

With parent company IOHK pushing to roll out the Alonzo smart contract protocol by August, things are shaping up nicely for Cardano. The question is, can it continue to sustain this momentum? And if so, what might that mean for its price?

Kraken adds Cardano staking

Late Tuesday evening UTC saw Cardano staking go live on Kraken. The firm posted a tweet announcing the news. On offer is a return of between 4-6%, which is slightly less than the 7.26% rate per stakingrewards.com. But still in line with the real-world returns reported by delegators.

“Receive initial annual staking rewards between 4-6%, issued weekly with instant stake & unstake.“

Staking is a way to actively participate in validating transactions on a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) network. By locking tokens in a staking protocol, users help to secure the network. In return, passive rewards are earned in a relatively low-risk manner.

Last month, data analytics firm CryptoDiffer compiled information showing Cardano was the industry’s biggest staking platform, with $29.5 billion staked. Three weeks on, and this figure is up almost 30% to $37.54 billion.

As the fourth largest crypto exchange by volume, Kraken’s support of the Cardano staking ecosystem is expected to accelerate this trend further.

What’s next for ADA?

Cardano’s YTD gains come in at +860%. Whereas rival smart contract platform Ethereum had +380% gains over the same period. However, both performances pale by comparison to Dogecoin’s near 12,000% growth since the start of the year.

Mid-April this year saw ADA undergo a period of consolidation as it ranged from $0.88 to $1.50. The announcement of partnering with the Ethiopian government coincided with a downward trend reversal.

Before ADA breakout, @rektcapital posted a tweet of his technical analysis on a weekly chart yesterday. He highlighted the $1.40 level as a major resistance zone. Adding that once broken, ADA will be free to explore price discovery.

“For how much longer will this final major resistance be able to hold ADA back from breaking out into new All Time Highs and Price Discovery?“

Having cracked that zone soon after posting the tweet, it remains imperative for ADA to stay above it.

If ADA can do that, YouTube channel The Coin Bureau puts a price prediction of $3, maybe more, in the near term. But, as mentioned by host “Guy,” this is relative to Alonzo shipping on time.