A recently conducted poll on social media shows that the cryptocurrency community is most interested in staking the smart contract platform Cardano ($ADA), with thousands of votes dominantly picking it over other Proof-of-Stake networks.

The poll, conducted by cryptocurrency exchange and wallet provider Blockchain.com, found that 77.7% out of nearly 4,000 users are most interested in staking ADA. In contrast, 14% of users were interested in staking Ethereum ($ETH), the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, while 3.6% were interested in Solana ($SOL) and 4.7% in Polkadot ($DOT).

The results are noteworthy as according to available data, the rewards for staking $ADA are currently at around 3.58% per year, below Ethereum’s 5.12% and Solana’s 6.9%. Polkadot’s rewards are currently close to 14%, according to data from StakingRewards.

Cardano staking operates in cycles, with rewards being paid out in “epochs” or roughly every five days. The network relies on staking pools, which ensures that there are enough node operators on the network.

There are other ways for Cardano token holders to earn rewards and apply their ADA, including through the network’s decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem. Notably, its total value locked has recently dropped to an 8-month low amid a wider downturn in the total value locked on cryptocurrency networks, as investors move away from risk assets.

The community is nevertheless bullish on Cardano, however. Price estimates made via CoinMarketCap reveal that 10,800 users believe the cryptocurrency will trade at $$0.577 by the end of the month, up 33.5% from the cryptocurrency’s current $0.432 price tag.

Notably, the cryptocurrency community is predicting that the price of $ADA will close 2022 at around $0.49, suggesting a short-term rally for the smart contract platform ahead of a short correction. The $0.49 figure still represents a 13% premium on current prices.

As CryptoGlobe reported, a study published by the  Basil Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) has revealed that the world’s top banks have exposure to around $9 billion worth of cryptocurrencies, including Cardano ($ADA).

Image Credit

Featured image via Unsplash