Cardano (ADA) in Crisis? Whales Offload 200 Million ADA Despite $63M Institutional Inflows

An on-chain data revealed that large investors, commonly referred to as whales, moved approximately 200 million ADA tokens in March. According to the blockchain analytics firm Santiment, wallets holding between one million to ten million ADA gradually reduced their positions throughout the month.

This sell-off was not just a random movement of funds. It coincided with a visible price decline in the ADA market. As whales were reducing their holdings, the ADA price fell from $0.808 to $0.637 during March. 

Price Drops Below Key Technical Levels

The current price of Cardano (ADA) is around $0.6792, showing a slight recovery after falling to a recent low of $0.637. However, the overall trend for ADA still appears weak. This is because the price is trading below all important moving averages, including the 20-day, 50-day, 100-day, and 200-day exponential moving averages (EMA). These moving averages usually help traders identify the trend. When the price stays below them, it often means that sellers are still in control.

The Relative Strength Index (RSI), which measures market momentum, is currently at 43.97. This is below the neutral level of 50, suggesting that buyers are not yet strong enough to push prices higher. The RSI also shows no signs of a strong reversal, meaning that the market has not shifted to a bullish trend yet.

In the past few weeks, ADA has consistently struggled to hold above the $0.70 mark. Every time the price tries to move higher, it faces resistance, especially around $0.7128, where the EMA 20 is acting as a barrier. The EMA 50 around $0.7552 is also likely to be a strong resistance if the price manages to move up.

For ADA to change its trend from bearish to bullish, the price will need to move above $0.7128 and hold there. This would also need to be supported by a rise in trading volume and an improvement in the RSI above 50.

Institutional Investors Still Back Cardano

Despite the whale activity, institutional investors have not abandoned ADA. According to a report from CoinShares, Cardano saw $0.6 million worth of inflows into its exchange-traded products (ETPs) last week. This brought its total monthly inflows to $63.3 million for March. On a year-to-date basis, Cardano has accumulated $70 million in institutional inflows.

Compared to other altcoins, Cardano’s inflows were moderate but consistent. XRP attracted $4.8 million in the past week, reaching $15 million for March. Solana and Ethereum gained $7.8 million and $15 million in weekly inflows, respectively. Cardano’s total assets under management through ETPs now stand at $121.2 million. Although this is much lower than XRP’s $957 million, it still indicates that institutional players are not fully stepping away from ADA.