Cardano Whales Accumulate 310 Million ADA Amid Cardinal Protocol Launch

Cardano’s most committed holders have been actively accumulating the cryptocurrency, purchasing 310 million ADA in June. This significant buying spree by whales, who hold large amounts of ADA, has fueled speculation about potential major developments within the Cardano ecosystem. The accumulation suggests that these large holders are confident in the long-term prospects of Cardano, despite short-term volatility in the altcoin market.

According to data from Santiment, two major groups of Cardano whales have been particularly active. Whales holding between 100 million and 1 billion ADA have increased their holdings by 4.3% since June 1, now controlling 3.15 billion ADA. More significantly, whales with more than 1 billion ADA have added 10% to their holdings, now controlling 1.97 billion ADA. This transfer of supply into stronger hands could help resist volatility from short-term traders.

This surge in whale activity coincides with the introduction of Cardinal, a new protocol that aims to bring Bitcoin-native DeFi to the Cardano network for the first time. With Cardinal, Cardano is positioning itself as a serious contender in cross-chain DeFi by integrating Bitcoin’s value and security into the programmable environment of smart contracts. This development could attract more users and developers to the Cardano ecosystem, further boosting its long-term prospects.

Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has also proposed a bold strategy to convert $100 million in ADA from the protocol’s treasury into USDM, Cardano’s native stablecoin. The strategy involves earning passive income by providing liquidity, then using that income to buy back ADA and refill the treasury. Hoskinson estimates that this strategy could generate $5–$10 million annually, deepen stablecoin liquidity, and encourage DeFi activity to build out the Cardano ecosystem.

Despite the positive developments, the Cardano price chart shows some signs of uncertainty. ADA’s return to the upper boundary of a 7-month falling wedge has flipped former resistance into support, holding the line at $0.60. However, momentum indicators such as the RSI and MACD suggest a more sustained downtrend. If $0.60 fails to hold, the next key support sits at $0.50, aligning with deeper Fibonacci levels. Nevertheless, macro catalysts such as community traction on the Cardinal protocol, Hoskinson’s proposal, and the July 15 Cardano ETF decision deadline could renew momentum for Cardano.