Cardano (ADA) and Tezos (XTZ): a comparison
Cardano and Tezos set side by side: how the quotes moved, how the protocols are built and what tasks each one was made for.
Specifications of ADA and XTZ
| Cardano (ADA) | Tezos (XTZ) | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $0.179252 | $0.250027 |
| Ticker | ADA | XTZ |
| Type | coin of its own network | coin of its own network |
| Launched | 2017 | 2018 |
| Built by | Charles Hoskinson | Arthur Breitman, Kathleen Breitman |
| Consensus | Proof of Stake (Ouroboros) | Liquid Proof of Stake |
| Block | ~20 sec | — |
| Supply cap | 45 B ADA | — |
| Privacy | transfers are public | transfers are public |
| In circulation | 37.58 B ADA | 1.1 B XTZ |
| Market cap | $6.74 B | $275.29 M |
| Rank by cap | #18 | #137 |
Source: CoinGecko, Nov 10, 2026 12:57. How these numbers are counted
Price movement: ADA and XTZ
The start of the period is taken as 100 for both prices: the chart shows the difference in movement, not the quotes themselves.
| Period | ADA | XTZ |
|---|---|---|
| 7 days | −6.23% | +1.99% |
| 30 days | −29.02% | −17.07% |
| 90 days | −5.46% | +28.04% |
The link between their daily moves over the quarter is 0.67 (they travel alike).
The tasks ADA and XTZ were made for
- Contracts and applicationsCardano and Tezos
How Cardano and Tezos are built
How Cardano works
The consensus is called Ouroboros, a block appears roughly every 20 seconds, and accounting follows an extended UTXO model. ADA is delegated to stake pools, and the coins are not locked while it is. The supply cap is 45 billion ADA.
What Cardano is for
ADA pays fees, is staked to protect the network and is used in Cardano DeFi and NFT applications.
How Tezos works
Tezos upgrades happen without a hard fork: holders vote on amendments to the protocol and those activate by themselves. The consensus is Liquid Proof of Stake, in which coins are delegated to bakers without being locked.
What Tezos is for
XTZ goes towards fees, staking and voting, and the NFT and DeFi applications of the Tezos ecosystem rest on it as well.