Cardano trades above $0.196 as whales accumulate 110 million ADA

Cardano (ADA) hovered above $0.196 on Monday after registering strong double-digit gains across the past two weeks, demonstrating renewed momentum in the cryptocurrency’s ongoing recovery. The asset’s move higher has been underpinned by sustained accumulation from large investors and strengthening technical indicators, although it continues to navigate a series of significant resistance levels that could limit further advances in the near term. Whale accumulation and derivatives data signal renewed interest Santiment’s Supply Distribution data revealed that major ADA holders have stepped up their purchases during the latest recovery phase. Wallets controlling between 1 million and 100 million ADA acquired a combined 110 million tokens since Friday, suggesting top holders are using recent price consolidation to boost their exposure instead of reducing their stakes. This active accumulation has the potential to reduce the circulating supply of ADA available for sale and bolster the asset’s long-term prospects. However, analysts caution that sustained whale buying does not always translate to immediate price increases, especially while Cardano trades below important resistance. Cardano’s derivatives market developments add to the cautiously optimistic outlook. CoinGlass data reported that ADA’s Open Interest-weighted funding rate turned positive on Saturday and was most recently recorded at 0.0038% on Monday. This means traders with long positions are now paying premiums to those holding shorts, a structure typically associated with growing confidence in upward price continuation. Despite the positive premium, funding rates remain modest, indicating that leveraged bullish bets have not reached excessive levels. The long-to-short ratio has also edged up to 0.99, nearing neutral territory, which reflects a reduction in bearish positions as the balance between bulls and bears improves. Santiment’s recent figures show that major holders increased their ADA exposure by a combined 110 million tokens since Friday, reflecting continued confidence during Cardano’s price recovery phase. CoinGlass data also indicates increasing optimism in the derivatives market with positive funding rates, although leveraged bullish bets remain relatively contained. Further support comes from CryptoQuant’s market overview, which highlighted significant whale activity in Cardano’s futures segment. However, broader indicator readings remain neutral, painting a picture of a modestly improving yet cautious sentiment among sophisticated traders. Technical landscape: Cardano eyes breakout levels Technically, ADA maintains support above its 50-day Exponential Moving Average, which currently sits at $0.180, and is trading near its 100-day EMA at $0.196. The asset recently reclaimed the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement level around $0.195 and broke through a descending trendline near $0.176, lending further credibility to its continued recovery. Despite these improvements, Cardano remains below both its 100-day and 200-day EMAs, with the latter positioned at $0.254, and faces a substantial resistance cluster between $0.213 and $0.236. Market observers noted that clearing these levels could open the way to the next major target near $0.2991. Momentum indicators have also strengthened.