Cardano News Today: Cardano's $0.57 Crossroads: Whales Sell, Institutions Buy

Cardano (ADA) has plunged below $0.60, with negative funding rates and declining total value locked (TVL) in its decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem signaling potential for further downside. Traders and analysts are closely watching whether the cryptocurrency can stabilize above critical support levels or face renewed selling pressure amid broader market volatility according to reports.

Bearish momentum has intensified as ADA's TVL in DeFi protocols fell to $244 million on Friday, down from a peak of $423.5 million in Q3 2025. Derivatives data also highlights a negative outlook, with Coinglass reporting a funding rate of -0.057%, indicating shorts are dominating longs in betting ADA will continue to decline. On-chain analytics reveal whale activity exacerbating the sell-off: Over two weeks, large holders offloaded 140 million ADA tokens, while a four-day price drop in late October saw 348 million ADA accumulated by institutional buyers. The recent "death cross" technical pattern - where the 9-period simple moving average (SMA) crossed below the 26-period SMA - has further confirmed a bearish trend, with ADA trading at $0.57 as of November 14.

Despite the gloom, Cardano's ecosystem has shown resilience. DeFi TVL surged 28.7% in Q3 2025, reaching a three-year high, while ADA's market capitalization rose 42.5% to $29.5 billion. Key protocols like Liqwid and Minswap drove much of this growth, with Minswap capturing 74.7% of decentralized exchange (DEX) volume. Additionally, Cardano's treasury balance climbed to $1.3 billion, reflecting renewed developer and institutional confidence. The network's alignment with the ISO 20022 global financial messaging standard - a move that places it alongside XRP and XLM - has also bolstered its institutional appeal, with founder Charles Hoskinson emphasizing its role in bridging traditional finance and blockchain.

A major positive development emerged at the Cardano Summit 2025, where EMURGO and Wirex announced the launch of the Cardano Card - a multi-chain crypto card integrated into the Wirex app. The partnership, targeting six million users across 130 countries, aims to bring ADA into mainstream digital payments, offering features like crypto cashback, low FX fees, and DeFi utilities. While this could drive adoption, skeptics note that retail engagement remains muted, with daily active addresses declining despite a 21% rebound in ADA's price from its $0.49 low.

Analysts remain split on ADA's near-term prospects. Some argue that the confluence of whale selling and broader market weakness - exemplified by Bitcoin's 8.2% drop in November - could push ADA below $0.50. Others point to potential catalysts for recovery, including the Cardano Card's launch and the network's transition to fully decentralized governance in September 2025. A "Power of Three" bullish pattern forming on ADA's price chart has also sparked optimism, with some predicting a rally toward $0.73 if support at $0.55 holds.

As the market digests these mixed signals, ADA's path hinges on balancing bearish technical indicators with ecosystem-driven optimism. With the Cardano Foundation planning to inject liquidity into stablecoin projects and expand DeFi adoption, the coming months will test whether the network can convert institutional momentum into sustained retail traction.