Cardano (ADA) is strongly challenging the 1 dollar resistance level, on-chain data reveals the coexistence of accumulation signals and profit-taking risks.

Despite the recent bullish price movement of Cardano (ADA), on-chain indicators suggest that there may be profit-taking risks in the market, which could suppress the rise trend in the short term. Notably, the slowly rising Mean Coin Age indicates that network-level accumulation activities are starting. As of August 25, 2025, ADA is still attempting to break the psychological barrier of $1 against the backdrop of Bitcoin pullback, and if successful, the next target may point to $1.2 (based on Fibonacci extension levels).

[Price Movement and Market Sentiment Analysis]

(Source: TradingView)

Affected by Bitcoin's pullback from $117,000 to $111,500 (a three-day decline of 4.6%), Cardano fell 6.67% during the same period, dropping from $0.93 to $0.86. However, the daily chart structure still maintains a bullish pattern, and trading volume in August continues to be relatively high. ADA tested the $1 resistance level on August 14 without success, and current market sentiment indicates that it is brewing a new attempt to rise. This trend aligns with cryptocurrency investors' focus on "breakthrough of resistance levels" and "bullish holding strategies."

(Source: Santiment)

[On-chain Indicators Deep Dive: Development Activity and Network Activity]

The historically dominant development activity metric for Cardano has continued to decline in 2025, with the current reading at 80.86 (still higher than Ethereum's 25.05), causing concern among long-term investors. A more significant issue is the on-chain transaction volume, which has shown a stepwise decline: two substantial drops in November 2024 and April 2025, with recent transaction volume down 90% compared to early November 2024. However, the number of daily active addresses remained stable in 2025, reflecting a resilient user base.

[Profit-taking risk and accumulation signal game]

The high 180-day MVRV (Market Value to Realized Value Ratio) indicates that a large number of holders are in a profitable state, increasing the risk of profit-taking selling pressure—even though the dormant circulation in August remains at a low level. A key positive signal comes from the slow rise in average coin age (MCA): this indicator tracks the average holding duration of network tokens, and the first trend reversal since May implies that accumulation behavior is occurring, which supports the long-term price movement of Cardano.

Conclusion

Based on the comprehensive technical analysis and on-chain data, Cardano faces a critical resistance level of 1 USD in the short term, and whether it breaks through will depend on the battle between profit-taking pressure and accumulation strength. The decline in development activity and contraction in trading volume need to be taken seriously, but the increase in average coin age and the stability of active addresses indicate that the underlying network still has advantages in terms of health. For crypto users focusing on "on-chain analysis" and "token accumulation strategies," ADA currently exhibits typical characteristics of a bullish-bearish battle, and the overall trend of Bitcoin should be prioritized before a breakthrough of 1.2 USD.