- Charles Hoskinson says Cardano DEXs are deeply undervalued and could see massive upside as infrastructure improves
- NIGHT’s surge highlights how Cardano DeFi can attract attention even with limited liquidity today
- Stablecoins and cross-chain bridges remain the key missing pieces for real DeFi scale on Cardano
Charles Hoskinson thinks the market is sleeping on Cardano’s DeFi ecosystem, and he isn’t being subtle about it. In a recent exchange on X, the Cardano founder said this could be an ideal moment to go long on Cardano-based decentralized exchanges, suggesting they could even “100x” over time if things line up.
The comment came as interest around the Midnight (NIGHT) token suddenly picked up across both centralized and decentralized markets. Hoskinson was responding to a post from Cardano stake pool operator YODA, who highlighted a sharp spike in NIGHT’s trading activity and what it might mean for Cardano DeFi more broadly.
NIGHT Volume Exposes the CEX vs DEX Divide
YODA pointed out that NIGHT just printed a new all-time high while pulling in roughly $4.2 billion in daily trading volume on centralized exchanges. That number alone is eye-catching, but the contrast on the decentralized side is even more telling.
Data shared from DEX Screener shows Cardano-based DEXes handled around $4.3 million in NIGHT volume. On paper, that’s tiny next to centralized exchanges. But context matters here, and that’s where YODA sees a win.
NIGHT was still the most traded token across Cardano DEXes by a wide margin. The next closest asset, SNEK, recorded only about $306,000 in volume. That gap isn’t subtle. It suggests that when a fresh narrative or new token captures attention, Cardano’s on-chain infrastructure can respond, even if overall liquidity is still thin.
For YODA, this was less about raw numbers and more about direction. In his view, it hints that Cardano DeFi may be closer to a shift than most people expect.
Hoskinson Agrees, But Flags the Missing Pieces
Hoskinson acknowledged the growth in NIGHT’s on-chain activity, but he didn’t pretend the ecosystem is already firing on all cylinders. In his view, Cardano DeFi is still early, and two missing ingredients are holding it back: stablecoins and cross-chain bridges.
Without reliable stable assets, it’s hard for larger players to deploy capital efficiently. And without bridges, liquidity stays boxed in, unable to flow freely from other ecosystems. Hoskinson argued that once those pieces are in place, activity on Cardano DEXes could scale much faster than the market currently assumes.
In other words, the foundation is there, but the plumbing isn’t finished yet.
Why Hoskinson Thinks the Risk-Reward Is Skewed
Hoskinson’s “go long” comment isn’t about current dominance. It’s about positioning. Low volumes, low valuations, and low expectations tend to scare people away, but historically, that’s also where long-term upside often starts to form.
He’s not claiming Cardano DEXes are winning today. Instead, he’s suggesting they’re underbuilt relative to the network’s technical potential. If stablecoins arrive, bridges go live, and tokens like NIGHT continue to pull attention on-chain, DeFi activity could expand quickly from a very small base.
For now, Cardano DEXes remain minor players compared to Ethereum or Solana. But Hoskinson’s message is pretty clear. From his perspective, the best risk-reward usually shows up before the growth is obvious on the charts, not after everyone is already convinced.
