Cardano price under pressure as whales dump $100M ADA

Cardano price is facing renewed downside after heavy whale selling triggers short-term pressure.

Summary

  • Whales sold 100M ADA in three days.
  • DeFi and trading volumes are declining.
  • ETF hopes and network upgrades may aid recovery.

At press time, Cardano was trading at $0.6404, down 0.7% over the previous day. Although ADA has increased by roughly 1.7% in the past week, it remains down 20% over the past month. The token has been moving within a 7-day range of $0.6303 to $0.6905, suggesting a period of cautious trading after recent volatility.

Trading activity also appears to be cooling. Cardano’s (ADA) 24-hour volume has slipped by 6.3% to $1.39 billion, a sign of slowing participation. On the derivatives side, CoinGlass data shows that futures volume jumped 34.83% to $2.11 billion, even as open interest dipped slightly by 0.21% to $705.83 million.

This mix usually means traders are rotating their positions , closing older trades and opening new ones, as they anticipate the next move rather than committing to a clear direction.

Cardano whales offload 100M ADA

On-chain analyst Ali Martinez reported on Oct. 29 that whales sold 100 million ADA, worth about $65 million, within 72 hours. Such sell-offs often trigger short-term volatility, but they don’t always spell long-term weakness. In many cases, the market absorbs the selling once prices stabilize and smaller buyers step back in.

Still, Cardano’s decentralized finance ecosystem is showing signs of strain. Data from DeFiLlama indicates that total value locked has fallen from $360 million in early October to about $280 million now. Monthly decentralized exchange volume has slipped from $125 million in July to just $85 million this month, while the stablecoin market cap has dropped to $38.5 million. These figures suggest a gradual slowdown in on-chain activity.

Despite the current pullback, several events could shift momentum. A major turning point may be the Securities and Exchange Commission’s impending ruling on Grayscale’s spot ADA ETF, which might attract institutional flows similar to those of Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs. 

On the technical front, upgrades like Ouroboros Leios and Hydra layer-2 aim to boost scalability and reduce costs. Investors will be keeping an eye out for any new developments regarding governance, enterprise adoption, and DeFi growth at the Cardano Summit 2025, scheduled for November.

Cardano price technical analysis

Technical indicators remain mixed but lean bearish in the near term. With a reading of 40, the relative strength index shows weak momentum but is not yet oversold. The majority of moving averages, ranging from the 200-day SMA to the 10-day EMA, indicate sell, confirming ADA trades below key trend levels.

Cardano price analysis: Whale sell-off triggers renewed pressure - 1
Cardano price daily chart. Credit: crypto.news

While Bollinger Bands show declining volatility around current prices, the MACD offers a weak buy signal, suggesting the potential for short-term relief if volume returns. Immediate support is around $0.578, while the resistance is between $0.665 and $0.752.

Failure to hold $0.58 puts the market at risk of declining towards deeper support levels, but a sustained break above $0.665 might lead to a rebound towards $0.75.

Source: https://crypto.news/cardano-price-analysis-whales-sell-ada-token-2025/