Cardano rebounds despite record investor pessimism

Bitcoin slightly loosened its grip on market dominance. Result: altcoins are regaining strength. Among them, Cardano attracts attention, but not for the usual reasons. Its community’s enthusiasm has turned to gloom, reaching an unprecedented low in five months. Yet, in the world of crypto-assets, this type of collective pessimism does not necessarily mark the end of a story. It might even signal the opposite.

When crypto investors panic, whales sense the opportunity on Cardano

According to the on-chain analyst Santiment, the Cardano community (ADA), usually confident, suddenly turned bearish. The ratio of positive to negative comments dropped to 1.5:1, while it was above 12:1 in early August. For many, this is a sign that small holders are throwing in the towel after three weeks of decline.

In a tweet, Santiment bluntly explained: “Cardano has quietly seen its community, usually optimistic, begin to turn bearish. After the lowest sentiment recorded in five months, ADA’s price is up 5%. Patient holders and dip buyers during this three-week decline should hope this trend of bearish retail continues.” 

And Santiment adds that often, prices like to defy the crowd by taking the opposite direction of its expectations. When small traders, consumed by impatience and frustration, sell off their tokens cheaply, it is usually the big holders (or “whale”) who scoop up the stakes. And in this game of musical chairs typical of the crypto market, they are the ones who, by quietly accumulating, end up restarting the upward machine.

ADA’s recent history confirms this contrarian pattern. The drop from $0.78 in mid-August quickly gave way to a rebound towards $0.82, driven by those who bought when others sold. Once again, crypto whales seem alert.

Cardano at a decisive threshold: technical analysis plays its role

Beyond sentiment, charts tell their own truth. Independent analyst Quantum Ascend reminded that Cardano has been evolving since June in a long-term technical channel. Today, ADA is positioned exactly on the Fibonacci 0.382 retracement at $0.82. This is a decision zone: either the drop intensifies, or the recovery is confirmed.

The same tone comes from analyst Crypto King, who sees an ascending channel forming. For him, Cardano could exceed the psychological threshold of $1, with targets at $1.20 or even $1.40. 

Furthermore, the TD Sequential indicator, often used to spot reversals, has generated a buy signal, suggesting a weakening in selling pressure.

Key figures to remember about Cardano

• ADA gained 42% over 60 days and 25% over 90 days;
• The crypto recently bounced from $0.78 to $0.819;
• The asset remains 73% below its ATH of $3.10 (September 2021);
• The network processed $5.3 billion in transactions in one week.

With this data in hand, it is hard not to see that Cardano’s current situation is a crossroads. Cautious investors observe, while the boldest are already betting on a strong comeback.

Cardano, the tenth largest crypto by market capitalization, continues to divide opinion. On one side, retail sentiment at its lowest; on the other, solid technical and fundamental indicators. And in the shadows, traditional finance is advancing its pawns: giants like Grayscale are active in launching a first Cardano-backed ETF, signaling that the asset is changing scale.