- Cardano Breaks Out Amid Mixed Signals: ADA broke out of a descending channel last week, triggering $880k in short liquidations. However, network activity has slowed, with daily active addresses and transaction volume dropping.
- Whale Accumulation Focused on Select Cohorts: The 10 million to 100 million ADA holder group added 1% of the circulating supply, but other major holders remain less active. Retail investors, however, continue to buy steadily since February.
- Technical Outlook — Holding Key Support: ADA is currently holding support at $0.8, with bullish momentum intact. Analysts eye a potential move toward $0.91, backed by rising OBV and upward-trending moving averages.
Cardano’s ADA token just pulled off a breakout from a short-term descending channel last week. That move wasn’t just for show — it was accompanied by $880k worth of short liquidations in under 24 hours, kicking off a surge that’s got traders paying attention.
But while the breakout was aggressive, the evidence on-chain paints a mixed picture. Yes, whales have been buying, but it’s not as widespread as some might think.
Network Activity Slows — Is the Momentum Fading?
Santiment data shows that daily active addresses and transaction volume took a dive on Friday, May 9th. Network activity slumped over the weekend, which is pretty typical for active addresses but not for transaction volume.
Interestingly, despite the drop, the daily active addresses at press time were still higher than most of April’s levels. So, not a full-on slump, but certainly not the surge some might have hoped for.
Alongside the activity drop, token velocity also declined. That might sound bad, but it actually lines up with ADA’s recent price hike — suggesting less selling pressure and not much profit-taking. In other words, a sign of accumulation.
Whale Accumulation — Not All Buyers Are Piling In
According to Santiment’s supply distribution data, only certain whale cohorts are actually buying. Over the past month, the 10 million to 100 million ADA holder group added 1% of ADA’s circulating supply — that’s roughly $296 million worth of tokens.
Meanwhile, the biggest players — those holding between 100 million and 1 billion ADA — have only started adding to their bags over the past three days. Other cohorts? Mostly selling off or staying quiet. Retail, however, has shown steady buying since February.
ADA Price Action — Holding the $0.8 Support
On the daily chart, ADA fell below the $0.68 range lows in late March but has since recovered. That same level was retested as support on May 8th. At press time, bulls were defending the $0.8 support zone.
The 20 and 50-period moving averages are trending upward, showing that bullish momentum is still intact. Next target? The mid-range resistance at $0.91.
The rising OBV (On-Balance Volume) also shows steady buying pressure, adding further credibility to the bullish outlook. But if the whales don’t keep accumulating and network activity keeps dropping, ADA might struggle to maintain this momentum.
