TLDR
- ADA dropped over 7% this week, trading near $0.210 on Friday
- Whale wallets accumulated 160 million ADA tokens during the dip since Sunday
- The long-to-short ratio sits at 0.74, reflecting bearish sentiment among traders
- Cardano’s Leios testnet reached six times mainnet throughput over a 41-day test phase
- Mixed on-chain metrics and derivatives data leave ADA’s near-term outlook uncertain
Cardano (ADA) is trading near $0.210 on Friday after falling more than 7% this week. The drop has pushed ADA below the $0.220 level, drawing attention from both traders and on-chain analysts.
Despite the price weakness, whale wallets have been buying the dip. Santiment data shows wallets holding between 10 million and 100 million ADA accumulated 160 million tokens since Sunday. That signals continued long-term interest from large holders, though it has not been enough to reverse the short-term slide.
Derivatives data tells a mixed story. The long-to-short ratio for ADA sits at 0.74 on CoinGlass, near its lowest point in over a month. A ratio below one means more traders are betting on further price declines.
On the other side, the funding rate turned positive on Thursday, reading 0.0013% on Friday. This means longs are paying shorts, which points to some degree of bullish positioning in the market.
CryptoQuant data adds to the mixed picture. Futures markets show large whale orders, but selling pressure is dominating. Other metrics remain neutral.
Technical Levels to Watch
ADA has reclaimed its 50-day and 100-day EMAs, sitting at $0.190 and $0.197. That gives the near-term bias a slight bullish tilt, but price is running into resistance overhead.
The RSI is retreating into the high-50s and the MACD histogram is contracting. Both point to slowing upside momentum. Key resistance sits at $0.213, $0.231, and $0.236. The 200-day EMA at $0.246 represents the main overhead supply zone.
On the downside, support sits near $0.195, then $0.173. A break below that cluster could open the door to $0.150.
Crypto analyst Sssebi posted on X that when ADA closes a weekly candle above a key resistance line, it would signal a major move higher. The analyst’s post highlighted the importance of that weekly close as a trigger for the next leg up.
When $ADA closes a weekly candle above this line it's GAME ON🚀 pic.twitter.com/xvXmJSRNpk
— Sssebi🦁 (@Sssebi) August 27, 2026
Leios Testnet Delivers Strong Results
Away from the price action, Cardano’s development team posted strong results from its first public Leios testnet. The network reached six times current mainnet throughput during the 41-day test. At its most stable point, Leios handled 54% of all traffic, processing 18 times the transactions of real mainnet traffic and 3.3 times the data.
Every issue found during the test came from code rather than the underlying protocol. Developers resolved problems through weekly public releases.
Leios works as an overlay on Cardano’s existing Ouroboros Praos protocol. It creates endorser blocks between Praos blocks to process more transactions in parallel. The next testing phase, called Water, is already live and includes a rewards program for stake pool operators.
