The digital asset Cardano (ADA) faced significant selling pressure on December 11, 2025, extending losses in a volatile session. Trading between $0.39 and $0.43, ADA declined by approximately 5%, building on a 3% drop from the previous day. Market analysts point to a hawkish stance from the U.S. Federal Reserve, which combined an interest rate cut with restrictive forward guidance, as a primary catalyst weighing on the broader cryptocurrency sector. However, a deeper look reveals a stark contrast between price action and underlying network health.
Derivatives Data Reflects Growing Caution
Sentiment in the futures market has turned notably cautious. Aggregate open interest, representing the total value of all unsettled contracts, plunged by 13% within 24 hours to $725.61 million. Concurrently, the funding rate dropped from 0.0047% to 0.0019%, indicating declining optimism among leveraged traders. Data further shows that short positions now command a majority, accounting for 54.62% of the market. A Binance liquidation heatmap identifies dense clusters of liquidity at $0.48 and $0.50, suggesting these price levels could act as magnets, potentially triggering heightened volatility if retested.
Whale Movement and Technical Breakdown Add Pressure
The technical outlook deteriorated as ADA breached key support levels. The price was rejected at a local resistance zone near $0.48, a level defined by peaks recorded on October 27 and November 11. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) fell to a reading of 44, signaling increasing bearish momentum. This technical weakness was compounded by substantial whale activity, with 750 million ADA transferred to the Binance exchange on December 10. Such a move typically hints at impending sell-side pressure. Interestingly, initial buying demand absorbed this pressure, with ADA holding near $0.46 before the subsequent drop, pointing to latent demand beneath the surface.
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On-Chain Metrics Paint a Bullish Counter-Narrative
Diverging sharply from the speculative price action, Cardano’s network fundamentals reached multi-month highs. Blockchain analytics firm Santiment reported that the transaction volume hit 4.11 billion ADA on December 10, marking a nine-month peak. Furthermore, the count of active addresses surged to 34,229, achieving its highest level in nearly four months. These on-chain indicators suggest robust and growing organic usage of the Cardano blockchain, independent of short-term trading flows.
This period of strong utility coincides with a major ecosystem development: the launch of Midnight on December 9. Described by founder Charles Hoskinson as the most significant moment in Cardano’s history, Midnight is a privacy-focused sidechain leveraging zero-knowledge cryptography. Its native token, NIGHT, is already listed on major exchanges including OKX, Bybit, and Kraken, and the network has reportedly attracted one million mining addresses.
Critical Levels to Watch for a Trend Reversal
Market observers identify $0.48 as a crucial threshold for any sustained recovery. A decisive breakout above this resistance could pave the way for a move toward the $0.60 region. Failure to reclaim this level, however, increases the risk of a retest of December’s low at $0.3707. The coming days will determine whether the strength observed in network adoption can provide a foundation for price support or if macroeconomic headwinds will continue to dictate the market’s direction.
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