- According to Altcoin Daily, Cardano has more over 300,000 active smart contracts on the mainnet.
- Vasil upgrade sparked major surge in smart contract deployments after 2022.
- Plutus V2 led 2024 growth with over 96,000 new contracts added during the year.
Cardano has achieved a major development milestone with over 300,000 smart contracts now active on its mainnet, according to data from blockchain analytics platform Alethea. Less than four years have passed since the Plutus programming language’s Alonzo hard fork gave the network smart contract capabilities.
The news was brought to light by cryptocurrency analyst Altcoin Daily, which pointed out that there are already 300,490 active contracts on the Cardano mainnet. This growth indicates increased developer adoption and expanding decentralized application deployment across the blockchain ecosystem.
Vasil Upgrade Catalyzed Contract Deployment Growth
The Vasil hard fork implemented in September 2022 served as a turning point for Cardano’s smart contract adoption. Before this upgrade, the network hosted approximately 63,490 contracts, with Plutus V1 Scripts accounting for 2,900 deployments as of July 2022.
Following Vasil’s improvements to the Plutus language, contract deployment accelerated through enhanced efficiency and reduced costs for developers. The upgrade made smart contract creation more accessible and economically viable for various application types.
Current figures show a 373.28% increase in smart contract deployment over the three-year period since the Vasil implementation. This growth trajectory demonstrates sustained developer interest and platform maturation beyond initial smart contract launch phases.
2024 Marks Record Year for ADA Contract Additions
The year 2024 alone witnessed nearly 100,000 new smart contract deployments on Cardano, with Plutus V2 Scripts leading this expansion. Data shows 96,523 Plutus V2 contracts were added between January and December 2024, accounting for the majority of new deployments.
The dominance of Plutus V2 Scripts indicates developers are adopting the more advanced smart contract capabilities introduced through recent network upgrades. This version offers improved functionality and performance compared to earlier iterations of the Plutus language.
The sustained growth in contract deployment suggests Cardano’s development ecosystem continues expanding despite broader cryptocurrency market volatility. Developer activity remains strong as more projects choose to build on the platform.
Reaching 300,000 smart contracts validates Cardano’s technical infrastructure and developer tooling improvements implemented over the past several years. The milestone indicates the network has moved beyond experimental phases into practical application deployment.
