On February 26, on-chain data shows that despite a temporary weakening in Cardano’s price, large wallet addresses continue to accumulate ADA. Data analytics firm Santiment revealed that the “Supply Distribution” indicator indicates that wallets holding between 100,000 and 100 million ADA (commonly referred to as sharks and whales) have significantly increased their holdings over the past few months, boosting their market influence.
Specifically, over the past six months, this core group of investors has accumulated approximately 819.4 million ADA, worth about $248 million at current valuations, increasing their share of circulating supply from 66.84% to 68.44%. This change suggests that large investors are continuing to accumulate during price dips rather than selling off, indicating a sustained medium- to long-term investment outlook.
(Source: Santiment)
Notably, this accumulation behavior shows a certain divergence from price trends. During periods of significant ADA price declines, whale addresses have accelerated their accumulation, with an even more pronounced trend since this month. This “counter-trend” positioning is often seen as a signal of bottom-fishing and is used to gauge market sentiment and potential support zones.
From an on-chain structural perspective, the continued buying by large wallets not only increases the concentration of holdings but may also influence market volatility in subsequent phases. As whale holdings rise, the tradable circulating supply decreases, often leading to increased price elasticity— a common characteristic of capital behavior in crypto market cycles.
In the short term, ADA has rebounded strongly in the past 24 hours, rising about 14% to around $0.30, indicating that buying momentum is recovering. However, future movement will still depend on overall market sentiment, capital inflow strength, and the stability of key support levels.
The market’s next focus is whether the ongoing accumulation by whales will translate into medium-term upward momentum or is merely a phase of value positioning. If the on-chain accumulation trend continues alongside increased trading volume, Cardano’s price movements, whale holdings, and on-chain capital flows could become key indicators for predicting the next market cycle.
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