Holding Support at $0.72 as Whale Buying Increases

TLDR

• ADA price currently trading around $0.72, showing sideways consolidation after a 10% drop last week
• Whales purchased over 80 million ADA in just 48 hours, suggesting strong market confidence
• Charles Hoskinson confirmed a DeFi partnership between Cardano and Litecoin through the Midnight project
• ETF approval odds have increased from 45% to 64% in a single day
• Technical analysis suggests ADA could reach $1 if it maintains support above $0.72

Cardano’s price has been moving sideways around the $0.72 mark after experiencing a 10% drop last week. Despite this recent dip, several factors point to potential upward movement for the ninth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization.

Currently trading at approximately $0.72, ADA has a market cap of $23.5 billion. The cryptocurrency has managed to find support at the lower end of its upward channel around $0.74, which has served as a safety net since mid-April.

Whale activity has been particularly noteworthy in the Cardano ecosystem. According to blockchain platform Santiment, large wallet holders have accumulated over 80 million ADA in just 48 hours. This substantial whale buying often precedes significant price movements.

Technical analyst Ali Martinez believes ADA could push towards $1 if it maintains its position above $0.72 and continues following the established trend channel. Martinez noted that after reaching a high near $0.88, ADA pulled back but found strong support at the lower boundary of its ascending channel.

The Litecoin Connection

One of the most exciting developments for Cardano is the confirmation of a DeFi partnership with Litecoin. Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson verified these rumors over the weekend, expressing his appreciation for the Litecoin community.

“Love the Litecoin community and have known Charlie and Bobby for over a decade. Great community!” Hoskinson stated, responding to speculation about the collaboration.

The partnership is expected to materialize through Cardano’s upcoming privacy-focused project called Midnight. This represents a rare cross-chain bridge between two established Layer-1 blockchains.

Such a partnership could significantly enhance multi-chain liquidity and broader DeFi participation, potentially lifting ADA’s utility and price trajectory heading into the latter part of 2025.

Technical Indicators and Market Movement

From a technical standpoint, Cardano appears to be in a consolidation phase rather than a prolonged decline. The cryptocurrency is currently holding above the 50-day moving average at $0.7199, which has repeatedly acted as a short-term support level since early May.

The next key resistance level is the 7-day simple moving average at $0.7702, with a daily close above this mark necessary to regain bullish momentum. However, the Parabolic SAR indicator flipped bearish on May 17 and continues to print above the current price at $0.8558, signaling caution from momentum traders.

If the current structure on #Cardano $ADA is an ascending channel, holding above $0.72 could pave the way for an upswing toward $0.92. pic.twitter.com/vgNNfuudPd

— Ali (@ali_charts) May 18, 2025

Trading volume for ADA has declined from $934 million on Friday to approximately $620 million on Monday, according to Coingecko data. This reduction in volume reflects the weekend lull typical in crypto markets.

If ADA can reclaim the $0.78 level and transform it into support, analysts suggest it could potentially break past $0.85 and rally toward the $1 mark in the short term. Looking further ahead, a functional DeFi ecosystem partnership with Litecoin could push ADA as high as $1.40 in 2025.

ETF Hopes Rising

Another factor potentially boosting Cardano’s price outlook is improving regulatory sentiment. According to Polymarket, the probability of a Cardano spot ETF approval this year has jumped dramatically from 45% to 64% in just one day.

This sudden increase reflects growing investor confidence that Cardano could soon integrate with traditional financial markets, which would likely bring new capital into the ecosystem.

Market participants remain attentive to broader crypto sentiment, particularly Bitcoin’s price movements, which typically influence ADA’s directional bias. If Bitcoin maintains strength above $104,000, it could provide enough confidence for ADA to retest the $0.78 level in the near term.

On the downside, a daily close below $0.7199 could expose ADA to a deeper retracement toward the 100-day SMA support at $0.6859.