Cardano Drops 9.582% Amid Apple Pay Integration and Community Tensions

Cardano's latest price was $0.8137, down 9.582% in the last 24 hours. Cardano has been making significant strides in the cryptocurrency world, with several key developments and community discussions shaping its trajectory. One of the most notable advancements is the integration of Cardano payments via Apple Pay. This integration is set to expand access to over 550 million users worldwide, driving real-world adoption and investor confidence. The move positions Cardano as a serious player in the digital payments space, with retail and institutional interest rising as adoption grows.

Market sentiment continues to lean bullish, with momentum indicators being positive. The steep, steady trend confirms that Cardano’s advance is not just hype—it’s driven by renewed investor confidence. The integration of Apple Pay adds a strong fundamental catalyst to Cardano’s already strong technical outlook, positioning it as a serious player in the digital payments space.

However, tensions are rising within the Cardano community as a major delegated representative, known simply as “Whale,” has launched a critique of founder Charles Hoskinson and Input Output Global. Whale, who reportedly controls around 6 million ADA worth of delegated voting power, declared a blanket rejection of all future proposals from IOG. Whale accused Hoskinson of excessive spending and lack of delivery, urging fellow Cardano stakeholders to delegate their ADA to representatives committed to auto-denying IOG proposals. This move essentially triggered a governance revolt just as a vote on the 2025 Cardano Summit proposal went live.

Charles Hoskinson responded to the accusations by denying the common criticism that Cardano was neglecting scaling development, stating that it was already “underway.” He dismissed Whale’s demands as “pettiness on-chain” and claimed that Whale does not speak for the wider community. Hoskinson also revealed that he was in contact with a defamation law firm regarding recent accusations. This escalation drew comparisons to Craig Wright’s aggressive legal strategy with BSV, a strategy many say backfired and damaged the project’s image. Some Cardano users worry that Hoskinson’s legal warnings may do the same.

The Cardano community appears split over the issue. One longtime user, Cardano Rep, publicly changed his delegation in response to the debate. While he acknowledged areas where IOG could improve, he warned against abandoning the team entirely. Others, like prominent user Toshi, sided with Whale, saying Cardano had failed by focusing too much on governance upgrades and not enough on fundamental scaling. The Whale drama comes just days after Hoskinson announced he had received the first draft of a long-awaited audit report, launched after accusations of a $500 million discrepancy in ADA holdings. Hoskinson has pledged to read the report aloud on a livestream once finalized.

Whether Whale is a rogue voice with influence or the tip of a growing rebellion remains to be seen. But for now, Cardano governance is facing one of its most public and polarizing stress tests to date. The community’s reaction to these developments will be crucial in shaping the future of Cardano and its role in the cryptocurrency ecosystem.

Despite the internal tensions, Cardano’s native token ADA is showing notable strength in the cryptocurrency market. The token is currently trading near the $0.89 level, positioning itself just below key resistance. According to analyst Dan Gambardello, ADA is forming a bullish breakout structure by reclaiming major moving averages. The asset also surpasses long-established trendlines that served as resistance. This recent chart action is in line with previous accumulation processes that were followed by keen price rallies. Historical data demonstrates that ADA looked very often similar; consolidation was the precursor of its impulsive rallies.

The $0.62 level has become crucial as it helps sustain the bullish formation. The resistance is still clustered at the levels range of 1.15 to 1.30, and ADA needs to cross this value to validate a prolonged rally. On-chain analyst CryptoJobs3 emphasized the importance of the $0.77 to $0.82 support range for ADA’s continued momentum. A strong weekly close above this level could signal further movement toward $1.0159 and $1.20. Volume indicators show that long-term investor confidence is being accumulated in the range between $0.30 and $0.40. This is a past purchase based on long-term price gain.

Meanwhile, Bitcoinsensus noted ADA’s behavior within an ascending channel that has persisted since early 2023. Whenever ADA approached the lower channel line, it bounced a lot, recording increases of 200 to 300 percent. The same tendency is being evidenced on the token, and if the pattern holds, it is more likely to trigger a possible increase to about 2.40. The channel shows a repeating trend that could still define the market directions of ADA. In addition, the psychological resistance at almost two dollars can also serve as a notable challenge if the token reaches this price mark. Any temporary pullback could be a review of breakout levels, not a reversal.

ADA is at a pivotal stage with multiple bullish signals aligning across technical and volume-based indicators. If key support levels hold and the breakout pattern confirms, Cardano could be heading for a significant price expansion. The integration of Apple Pay and the ongoing technical strength position Cardano for continued growth and adoption in the digital payments space. However, the internal community tensions and the governance revolt add an element of uncertainty to the project’s future. The resolution of these issues will be crucial in determining Cardano’s trajectory in the coming months.

The Cardano ecosystem witnessed a significant deployment with the mainnet launch of Atrium, a next-generation SocialFi protocol, on July 22nd, 2025. This launch represents the culmination of over two years of dedicated development work aimed at enhancing decentralized social finance applications on the Cardano blockchain.

Within the Cardano community, governance dynamics generated notable discussion as founder Charles Hoskinson faced public criticism from Daniel Friedman, founder of the Decentralized Consensus Foundation (DCF). The disagreement centers on the Cardano Constitutional Committee and its future role, highlighting emerging tensions regarding the platform's governance direction and the implementation of its Voltaire phase.

Observations of increased activity among large-scale Cardano (ADA) holders, often referred to as whales, generated interest within the community. This movement of significant ADA quantities between wallets is typically interpreted by market observers as potential strategic positioning by major stakeholders, though the exact motivations behind this specific activity remain speculative.