Cardano News Today: Hoskinson's Bet vs. Whale Selling: ADA's $0.50 Support in Peril

Cardano (ADA) faced a mixed week as the cryptocurrency stabilized just above the critical $0.50 support level amid selling pressure from large holders and strategic investments by its co-founder. The token's price dropped 2% on November 15 before consolidating, reflecting broader market uncertainty as investors digested Charles Hoskinson's high-profile backing of American Bitcoin, a Trump-linked mining and AI infrastructure firm. Meanwhile, whale activity highlighted growing skepticism, with over 4 million ADA dumped in a week, signaling potential volatility.

Hoskinson's $200 million investment in American Bitcoin, a firm co-led by Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, has drawn both support and scrutiny. The Cardano co-founder emphasized the firm's dual focus on Bitcoin mining and AI infrastructure, arguing that the combination creates "serious cash" over the long term. American Bitcoin, which raised $220 million in a pre-IPO round earlier this year, has attracted additional capital from figures like Grant Cardone and Peter Diamandis, underscoring a shift toward hard-asset accumulation over political narratives. However, the investment coincided with a 41% drop in ADA's intraday trading volume to $994 million and a 3% decline in open interest to $635 million, reflecting reduced speculative activity.

Technical indicators suggest traders are defending the $0.50 floor, with a long-to-short ratio of 1.08 indicating cautious optimism. Despite this, ADA remains below its 50-day, 100-day, and 200-day moving averages, reinforcing a downtrend. The RSI's proximity to oversold territory has yet to trigger a bullish reversal, leaving the token vulnerable to further declines if the $0.50 level breaks.

Adding to the bearish sentiment, on-chain data revealed large-scale selling by wallets holding 100,000 to 1 million ADA, a move often preceding sharp price swings. Analysts attributed this to institutional and high-net-worth investors reassessing exposure amid weak DeFi activity on Cardano, which has seen its total value locked (TVL) stagnate at $240 million. Hoskinson dismissed the TVL slump as a "non-technical" issue, citing low user engagement and liquidity rather than flaws in the network's scalability or security.

The market's fragile equilibrium reflects broader macroeconomic and political dynamics. While ADA's immediate support at $0.50 holds, a sustained recovery to the 50-day average of $0.6703 would require renewed volume and a shift in trend indicators. For now, traders remain split between defending the psychological floor and anticipating further consolidation, with the outcome likely to hinge on upcoming ecosystem updates and broader crypto market movements.