Cardano (ADA) traded near $0.210 on Friday after a sharp weekly decline of more than 7%, falling below the $0.220 threshold and heightening attention among market analysts and traders.
Major address accumulation amid price drop
Despite continued weakness in price action, ADA saw increased acquisition from large wallet holders. Blockchain analytics firm Santiment reported that addresses holding between 10 million and 100 million ADA accumulated 160 million new tokens since Sunday.
This notable buying activity reflects ongoing confidence among major investors, but it has not yet been sufficient to reverse Cardano’s downward price trend. The influx suggests some investors view the dip as a strategic entry point.
At the same time, derivatives market data indicate uncertainty. CoinGlass shows Cardano’s long-to-short ratio declined to 0.74—one of its lowest levels in over a month. A figure below 1.0 implies more traders are betting on continued downside than recovery.
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AAPLHowever, a positive shift appeared on Thursday as the ADA funding rate turned positive, reaching 0.0013% by the end of Friday’s session. This reading means long position holders are paying shorts, indicating persistent optimism among some traders, even as the broader mood remains cautious.
While futures data highlight large whale activity, CryptoQuant shows sell-side pressure continues to dominate ADA’s order-book, and several technical metrics remain neutral.
Key technical levels and analyst outlook
Cardano recently managed to climb back above its 50-day and 100-day exponential moving averages, at $0.190 and $0.197, giving some technical traders a slightly more constructive perspective in the short term. However, significant resistance sits overhead. Key zones are now found at $0.213, $0.231, and $0.236, while the 200-day EMA at $0.246 serves as the main barrier on the upside.
On the other end, support appears at $0.195 and $0.173. If these areas give way, market observers say a drop toward $0.150 could follow. Technical indicators reinforce this fragile outlook, with the Relative Strength Index drifting into the upper-50s and MACD histogram compressing, both pointing to fading bullish momentum.
Market analyst Sssebi commented that a weekly candle close above a crucial trendline could signal the start of a significant price rally, identifying this level as an important trigger for ADA’s next bullish move.
Technical development and industry trends
In parallel with its market activity, Cardano’s development team revealed strong results from the Leios public testnet launch. Over 41 days, Leios achieved throughput six times higher than the current Cardano mainnet. At its peak, the testnet processed 18 times more transactions than mainnet activity and managed more than triple the data volume.
According to the team, all issues encountered during the tests originated in code implementation, not in fundamental protocol weaknesses. Developers released updates weekly to address these findings.
Leios operates as a layer on top of Cardano’s Ouroboros Praos consensus system, introducing endorser blocks between Praos blocks for parallelized and accelerated transaction processing. The next phase, named Water, has already begun, featuring incentives aimed at stake pool operators.
With ongoing technological enhancements and market volatility, analysts have underscored the importance of closely monitoring evolving technical structures and resistance levels across the sector. While many traditional markets rely on intricate brokerage infrastructure, Wall Street is increasingly moving toward Web3 solutions. Investors now use platforms such as 1stepSwap to hold stock, gold, and silver directly in crypto wallets. By tokenizing real-world assets and rapidly sourcing optimal market prices, these platforms cut out middlemen and offer new market efficiencies.
The combination of institutional investor activity, advancements in blockchain scalability, and shifting market sentiment has placed Cardano at the forefront of crypto industry attention this week.
