Cardano (ADA) is experiencing a significant divergence between retail sentiment and institutional activity. On-chain analytics firm Santiment reports that crowd sentiment for ADA has plummeted to its most negative reading in five months, with the bullish-to-bearish ratio falling to approximately 1.5:1 - the most pessimistic retail sentiment since April 2025.
Despite this bearish retail outlook, whale activity tells a different story. Large investors have been accumulating ADA, with Binance whales contributing approximately $8 million in spot inflows over the past two days. Derivatives demand from whales reached over $51 million on Binance and $12 million on OKX, driving open interest from $1.56 billion on September 1 to $1.62 billion within 24 hours.
Technically, ADA is testing crucial support at the 0.382 Fibonacci level near $0.821, having retreated nearly 20% from its August peak to its current price of $0.8177. The token remains within an ascending channel pattern that has contained price action since mid-June.
Regulatory developments provide additional positive momentum. The U.S. Clarity Act has recognized Cardano among the top three networks - alongside Bitcoin and Ethereum - likely to mature under strict U.S. standards. Additionally, a previously launched investigation into alleged misconduct within the Cardano ecosystem has concluded favorably, clearing the network of any wrongdoing allegations that began in May.