Cardano (ADA) recorded a turbulent week, dropping 11% to trade near $0.160 on Monday, but on-chain data reveals that the largest holders seized the opportunity. Wallets holding 10–100 million ADA accumulated approximately 370 million tokens since June 15, according to Santiment. Meanwhile, mid-tier whales (100,000–10 million ADA) shed a combined 10 million tokens over the same period, highlighting a split among large investors.
Derivatives metrics underscore uncertainty. The long-to-short ratio on CoinGlass sank to 0.65, its lowest in over a month, signaling a bearish tilt. Yet the open interest-weighted funding rate turned slightly positive at 0.0050%, a mild bullish bias. This divergence mirrors the broader indecision in ADA’s near-term direction.
Technically, ADA remains under pressure. It trades below the 50-day EMA ($0.204), 100-day EMA ($0.236), and 200-day EMA ($0.311). The RSI lingers near 41, indicating weak bearish momentum without oversold extremes. The MACD hints at easing downside, but immediate resistance at $0.181 and stronger barriers at $0.202–$0.204 keep the downtrend intact. A break below support at $0.148 could accelerate losses.
Amid the price dip, Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson spent the weekend defending Input Output Global’s (IOG) decision to post an AI-generated influencer video on its official X account, calling the backlash part of a "perpetual outrage cycle." More notably, he announced that the Laos testnet will launch in three days, claiming it will improve Cardano’s speed by up to 60 times. While not yet a mainnet event, the upcoming testnet introduces a potential catalyst that could alter long-term sentiment. For now, ADA remains caught between whale accumulation and a dominant bearish market structure.
