Cardano struggles to recover after whales take $380 million in profits off table

Cardano price is currently trading in a tight range between the March 14 peak of $0.8104 and March 20 low of $0.5689. On-chain data shows that Cardano’s large wallet investors reduced their activity on ADA network and likely took profits on their holdings. 

ADA price could suffer a decline in response to mass profit-taking by Cardano holders, 

On-chain data shows mass profit-taking, whale exit

Whale transactions valued at $100,000 and higher are currently in a downward trend on the Cardano blockchain. On-chain data from Santiment shows a considerable decline in Cardano whale transactions since February 29. A drop in whale transactions during a price increase is a sign of profit-taking by whales. 

Cardano Whale Transaction Count and price. Source: Santiment 

The Network Realized Profit/Loss metric measures the net gains or losses realized by traders who sold the asset on a given day. The metric shows that ADA holders have taken nearly $380 million in profits since March 20. The past week was marked by consistent profit-taking and declining whale activity, a sign that whales are realizing gains and shedding their ADA holdings for profits. 

Cardano Network Realized Profit/Loss. Source: Santiment 

The altcoin’s price is $0.6592 on Binance, nearly unchanged in the past week and down nearly 19% from its year-to-date peak of $0.8104. The 1-day ADA/USDT chart shows that further correction is likely in Cardano, and the altcoin could collect liquidity in the Fair Value Gap between $0.3046 and $0.3736 identified on the monthly chart. 

Cardano price could rebound from this range and make a recovery in the coming weeks and months, targeting a comeback to the March 14 peak. 

The red bars on the Moving Average Convergence/ Divergence indicator, below the zero line, however, supports the thesis of a correction in ADA price. 

ADA/USDT 1-day chart 

If Cardano price sees a daily candlestick close above $0.7328 or the 78.6% Fibonacci retracement of the rally from January 23 low of $0.4477 to its $0.8104 peak, it could invalidate the bearish thesis and suggest a rally to the next key resistance at $0.9091, represented by the 127.2% Fibonacci extension.