Cardano Price Faces 9% Drop Despite 30M ADA Whale Accumulation

Quick Take:

• Crypto whales have accumulated 30 million ADA in the past week, according to a well-followed crypto analyst on X.
• Despite the heavy accumulation, ADA appears to be facing rejection from a key resistance level near $0.183; the chart suggests a potential reversal.
• Intraday traders appear to have a bearish outlook, with the long/short ratio falling below 1 and nearly $1.91 million worth of long-leveraged positions on the verge of liquidation.

Cardano (ADA) appears to be garnering massive support from crypto investors during the recent market recovery. On July 23, 2026, a well-followed crypto analyst shared a post on X revealing that whales have accumulated 30 million ADA tokens over the past week.

This massive accumulation coincided with ADA's 5.60% upward momentum over the same period.

Despite this massive accumulation, ADA failed to sustain its momentum, as the price tumbled 5% over the past 24 hours to trade at $0.167. However, market participants have shown a remarkable interest in the asset, as evidenced by the trading volume that jumped 12% to $280 million during the same period.

The increase in trading volume while the asset declines suggests that traders and market participants suggests traders remain active despite the recent pullback. Now, the question is whether the asset will continue its downside move or whether a potential upward momentum is possible in the coming days.

ADA Price Eyes Potential Decline, Key Levels to Watch

Looking at the daily chart on TradingView, ADA's short-term bias appears bearish. The chart shows that the asset is facing rejection from a key hurdle near $0.183. In fact, this level has acted as a strong resistance level.

Since June 4, 2026, ADA has reached this level on two occasions but faced intense selling pressure and downside momentum each time. The latest rejection suggests the pattern may be repeating.

The latest price action suggests that ADA could continue its bearish momentum if it remains below the $0.183 level. If it does, the asset could see another price decline of 9% and may reach the $0.154 level in the coming days.

However, this bearish thesis could only be invalidated if the ADA price crosses the $0.183 key level. In this scenario, the asset could open the door for upward momentum and may see a price jump of 18%.

The technical indicator, Average Directional Index (ADX), read 14.84, below the key threshold of 25, indicating weaker trend strength. Meanwhile, trading below the 200-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) points to a broader bearish structure.

Cardano Traders Turn Bearish Despite Whale Accumulation

In addition to the price action, intraday traders also have a bearish sentiment, as recorded by the derivatives platform CoinGlass.

At press time, ADA’s long/short ratio had declined below 1 to 0.952, indicating a shift in traders' sentiment from bullish to bearish. Meanwhile, the OI-weighted funding rate also turned negative, printing -0.0083%, showing that short sellers are becoming more dominant and bearish sentiment is strengthening.

This bearish dominance is also evident on the Exchange Liquidation Map, as traders appear to be over-leveraged at $0.167 on the lower side and $0.177 on the upper side.

Here, at these levels, they have built $1.91 million worth of long-leveraged positions and $6.17 million worth of short-leveraged positions, which shows traders' current bias.

These positions could be liquidated if the price moves in either direction. If the asset drops below $0.167, nearly $1.91 million worth of long positions could be liquidated.

However, if the sentiment shifts and ADA's price crosses the $0.177 level, a massive $6.17 million worth of short positions could be liquidated.'

The next few trading sessions could prove crucial, as ADA's price action near resistance is likely to determine its short-term direction.