Cardano whales bag 454M ADA while small wallets exit

Cardano’s big whales got caught on-chain scooping bags and bags of ADA as the token deals with uncertain selling pressure. Fresh data shows that wallets holding between 100,000 and 100 million ADA added about 454.7 million ADA over the past two months. At current prices, that accumulation stands around $161 million.

As big whales look to take over, smaller wallets continue to exit positions. Wallets holding 100 ADA or less dumped 22,000 tokens over the last week. The investors’ behavior has grown a spot on separation between large and small holders. Such actions often appear during phases of market stress. It is suggested that when whales add and retails dump, it could turn out to be an ideal setup for a rebound when markets stabilize.

Cardano holders sitting on losses? 

Santiment in a post shared data around Cardano’s current market value to realized value ratio. It mentioned that a lower 30-day MVRV suggests reduced downside risk relative to recent market participants. However, ADA’s 30-day MVRV stood at minus 7.9 percent.

A negative MVRV number indicates that the average holder is sitting on unrealized losses. This can lower the selling pressure since fewer holders are in profit. It added that if a coin holds a positive percentage, then the traders you’re competing with are making money. This eventually pushes a high risk of entering while profits are above the normal.

Data shows that other major altcoins are also holding similar readings. Chainlink sits at minus 9.5 percent, while Ether is at minus 7.6 percent. XRP is at minus 5.7 percent. The biggest crypto, Bitcoin, shows a milder negative reading of minus 3.7 percent.

Cardano price has dropped by almost 19% in the last 60 days but it has managed to gain by 6% on YTD. ADA price jumped by 4% in the last 24 hours. It is trading at an average price of $0.35 at the press time. It is down by over 88% from its all time high of $3.10, recorded in September 2021.

Is ADA facing US regulatory pressure?

The accumulation trend comes as Cardano faces political and regulatory uncertainty in the United States. Cardano creator Charles Hoskinson said the current administration has left the US crypto industry in a weaker position than under former President Joe Biden.

Hoskinson criticized how the Trump admin handled the launch of the Trump Coin and Melania Trump’s token. He said the rollout blasted the trust and damaged prospects for bipartisan crypto legislation in early 2025. Earlier, after Donald Trump’s election in November 2024, he reportedly stated that he would work with the new administration. He later said relations worsened as policy decisions unfolded.

Despite political headwinds, institutional infrastructure around Cardano is expanding. CME Group said it plans to list futures contracts tied to Cardano on Feb. 9. It is still awaiting regulatory approval. It also plans to introduce futures for Chainlink and Stellar. The products would fall under the oversight of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

The exchange plans to offer both standard and micro contracts. Position sizes for Cardano would range from 10,000 to 100,000 ADA. Chainlink contracts would range from 250 to 5,000 LINK. Stellar contracts would range from 12,500 to 250,000 XLM.

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