Cardano [ADA] ranked among the weakest-performing crypto tokens in the market, losing significant ground since its launch. ADA plunged to around $0.16 at press time, down from an all-time high near $3.10.
ADA slipped 2.14% over the past 24 hours, while trading volume plummeted 23% to $177.3 million. Price action told only part of the story, though.
On-chain metrics did little to strengthen ADA’s recovery case.
Why is Cardano’s network activity so weak?
ADA’s on-chain footprint pointed to real weakness in transaction flow.
The Cardano network logged just 21,700 transactions over the past day, a steep drop from roughly 57,000 at its peak.
That pattern held across recent trading and much of this year. Daily Transaction Count hovered between 11,000 and 20,000, a subdued range for a network of Cardano’s standing.
By contrast, Active Addresses ticked up to roughly 13,860. That divergence suggested a larger pool of users still generated only limited on-chain activity.
In broader terms, Active Addresses mostly sat between 10,000 and 20,000. Thin address activity paired with a low Transaction Count weighed heavily on the chain’s utility.
Are whales behind ADA’s selling pressure?
Exchange activity told a similar story. Heavy investor participation failed to lift a bearish outlook.
Spot Average Order Size data showed large whales dominated ADA trading on centralized exchanges. Whales are investors who control enough liquidity to influence an asset’s performance.
Weighed against Spot Market Netflow, that whale dominance translated into net selling of ADA over the past two weeks.
CoinGlass reported ADA’s Spot Netflow this week came in at roughly $1.41 million, against about $143.43 million in Exchange Inflows.
The pattern stretched back several weeks: the week beginning 13th of July logged roughly $167.39 million in inflows and a netflow of $1.82 million, consistent with continued net selling.
Sustained selling from the group kept ADA at risk. The only saving grace was buyers holding netflow within range.
Can Cardano’s 500 million ADA treasury plan turn the tide?
For now, the bullish case for ADA rests on its development plan for the Cardano blockchain.
The plan raises the treasury’s spending allocation from 350 million to 500 million ADA, giving the network more room to build out core infrastructure.
The move matters most if it drives higher on-chain activity, pulls in more active addresses, and attracts protocols to build on Cardano.
DeFiLlama data shows just 62 protocols currently operate on the chain—a low figure for a network active for years—holding a combined total value locked (TVL) of $61.7 million.
Final Summary
- Cardano’s Active Addresses rose while transactions collapsed – a split that hints at hollow, low-value engagement.
- A treasury raised to 500 million ADA offers ammunition, but ammunition without demand rarely wins battles.