This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.
What happened
Today, investors in top cryptocurrency Cardano (CRYPTO: ADA) are finally seeing some green. As of 11:15 a.m. ET, Cardano has appreciated 4.8%, reversing part of its losses from the past week.
Over the past seven days, Cardano remains down 12.1%, as investors price in headwinds relating to transaction issues on key exchanges such as Coinbase Global (NASDAQ: COIN). As was reported yesterday, transfers to and from the crypto exchange had been disabled for at least a portion of a few trading days, but these issues appear to be resolved at the time of this writing.
The resolution of these issues, along with strong price action in the crypto market today, appear to be propelling investor sentiment higher. Currently, the entire crypto market has gained 2.9% over the past 24 hours, with beaten-up tokens such as Cardano seeing outsized gains today.
Cardano investors are beaming today thanks to news that the Cardano Forest, a project run by Cardano Foundation, a non-profit linked to managing the Cardano network, has officially planted more than 1 million trees. As a proof-of-stake network, Cardano's validation protocol is already among the greenest in the crypto world. Via planting trees, Cardano has sought to become a carbon-negative network, a goal that appears to be closer to reality today than ever before.
So what
Overall, investors in Cardano have a number of reasons to be bullish today. Retail investors are able to trade ADA tokens, and sentiment in the overall crypto market is improving. Cardano is making big strides toward being the "greenest" blockchain network on the planet. What's not to like?
However, serious headwinds continue to batter the crypto sector, mainly driven by an increasingly hawkish Fed. This environment has led to a de-risking of investor portfolios, with cryptocurrencies and higher-growth equities seeing marked declines this year. In fact, the past 10 days have been the worst start for the crypto market since its inception.
Now what
Is now the time to be bullish or bearish on cryptocurrencies? That's the key question many investors are asking right now.
The answer probably depends on each individual investor's time horizon. As with any sort of disruptive technology, the growth we're likely to see coming out of the crypto world won't be linear. In fact, digital currencies are likely to remain among the most volatile assets anywhere. Accordingly, those with risk-averse mindsets may want to avoid this sector altogether.
However, those with a little more appetite for risk may consider adding a portion of their holdings to cryptocurrencies such as Cardano. This network has a number of token-specific catalysts that look attractive right now. Over the long term, there's reason to believe these catalysts could prevail over shorter-term knee-jerk responses to macro catalysts by the market. Of course, only time will tell.
Today's price action in the crypto market is a nice reprieve for investors who have seen sharp declines over the past month or so. However, it's likely that volatility will continue from here. Accordingly, fastening the seatbelt and getting ready for a bumpy ride should be the mindset investors have from here.
This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.