Cardano (ADA) has formed a "death cross" on its hourly chart as the cryptocurrency market experienced significant selling pressure early in the week. The technical pattern, where the 50-period moving average falls below the 200-period moving average, emerged as ADA's price hovered near the $0.26 support level, having reached a low of $0.269 before a slight rebound.
The broader market context saw over $343 million in total leveraged positions liquidated in a 24-hour period, with long positions accounting for $217 million of that total. This contributed to a risk-averse environment, with Cardano's futures Open Interest (OI) declining nearly 2% to $444 million. Despite the bearish pressure, ADA's funding rate remained positive at 0.0078%, indicating persistent bullish interest among some traders.
Technically, ADA's 4-hour chart shows bears are in control. The coin is trading at $0.271, having been rejected at the 50-period Exponential Moving Average (EMA) at $0.2775. Key momentum indicators like the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) have turned negative, while the Relative Strength Index (RSI) sits at 47. The immediate crucial support is identified at the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level of $0.2695. A break below could see a test of $0.2528.
Amid the market uncertainty, development on the Cardano blockchain continues to advance. The Intersect member-based organization provided an update on preparations for the intra-era hard fork to Protocol Version 11. SanchoNet has been upgraded to test the new features, and updated Plutus cost models are being readied for rollout. The mainnet-hard-fork-ready Cardano Node 10.7.0 release is targeted within one to two weeks.
The market's direction is also being influenced by macroeconomic tensions and upcoming data. Geopolitical concerns in the Middle East are affecting global risk sentiment, while traders are looking ahead to key U.S. economic releases, including February's jobs report.
