Cardano Plunges 74.5%...Whales Are 'Buying' Instead

▲ Cardano(ADA)

Large holders of Cardano (ADA) have continued to accumulate ADA even amidst a prolonged bear market, pushing their holdings to an all-time high. Wallets holding more than 1 million ADA have for the first time exceeded a total of 25 billion ADA, and are now reported to control over 67% of the current circulating supply.

TheCryptoBasic reported on May 14 (local time), citing data from Santiment, that so-called Cardano 'millionaire' wallets, holding more than 1 million ADA, have consistently increased their ADA purchases since December 2023. The holdings of these wallets were tallied at 25.09 billion ADA, marking an all-time high.

The holdings of these large wallets have increased from approximately 22 billion ADA at the end of 2023 to 25.09 billion ADA currently. The increase rate is about 14%, confirming a trend where large holders have not reduced their holding proportion despite market uncertainty and price weakness, but rather expanded it.

Currently, wallets holding more than 1 million ADA hold 67.47% of Cardano's circulating supply. This is the highest proportion since July 2020. TheCryptoBasic stated that while selling pressure emerged amidst price weakness, large holders absorbed ADA, increasing their control over the supply.

Cardano's market trend has shown a significant downturn over the past nine months. ADA's market capitalization has decreased by approximately 71% to around $9.5 billion. The price has also fallen by 74.5% from an intraday high of $1.02 in August 2025 to the current $0.26. Despite this decline, large holder wallets have not significantly reduced their existing positions but have increased their balances.

However, a cautious trend was observed in the derivatives market. Over the past 24 hours, $177 million flowed out of the Cardano futures market, while $162 million flowed in. The total open interest for ADA across all exchanges decreased by 3.58% to $543 million during the same period. This indicates that some derivatives traders are reducing their ADA positions.

Conversely, in the spot market, more ADA flowed out of exchanges than flowed in. The net inflow for the past 24 hours was negative $3 million. TheCryptoBasic explained that as individual investors began buying ADA, selling pressure decreased. The expansion of Cardano's large holders' holdings to an all-time high demonstrates that a long-term holding-centric supply and demand structure is being maintained even in a bear market.

*Disclaimer: This article is for investment reference only, and we are not responsible for any investment losses based on it. The content should be interpreted for informational purposes only.*