Cardano (ADA) is currently priced around $0.733. It has increased by 25% over the past week. On the surface, this looks like a positive trend. But the on-chain indicators and other data looks more concerning.
Large investors—often called “whales”—are leaving Cardano. At the same time, more and more small retail investors are buying ADA. The chain is also losing developers, and activity in DeFi and NFTs is dropping. These trends raise questions about whether Cardano is losing its strength as a blockchain network.
Big Holders Are Leaving While Small Wallets Grow
According to data from IntoTheBlock, wallets that hold large amounts of ADA have been shrinking since 2022. These wallets often belong to institutions or early investors.
Meanwhile, the number of wallets holding between $100 and $1,000 in ADA has grown. These smaller wallets now make up a big share of the total supply. In contrast, wallets with more than $100,000 in ADA have either stayed the same or dropped. This shows that big investors are no longer adding to their holdings.
A blockchain that is mostly owned by small investors can face problems. It may lack the money and support needed to grow, build new apps, or handle big market changes.
DeFi on Cardano is Losing Value
The trend of whales leaving is also visible in Cardano’s DeFi activity. Cardano’s total value locked (TVL) in DeFi has dropped from about $750 million in March 2025 to just $325 million today. That’s a drop of over 56%, according to DeFiLlama.
This is a sign that people are pulling their funds out of Cardano-based apps. By comparison, Ethereum has over $72 billion locked in DeFi. In the past 24 hours, Ethereum earned $2.26 million in fees, while Cardano earned none.
Apps on Cardano earned just $7,857 in daily fees. This shows that people are not using Cardano apps as much as they use apps on other blockchains.
Cardano’s NFT market is also shrinking. NFT volume over the past 24 hours was just $11,177. Earlier this year, in January, it was over $150,000 per day.
The drop in both DeFi and NFTs shows that users are less interested in Cardano’s Web3 features. That includes things like trading, minting NFTs, or using dApps.
Developer Participation on Cardano Blockchain Hits 2-Year Low
Cardano’s developer activity—a former strength—has deteriorated. Santiment data shows ADA’s development contributors have fallen to 103 as of July 10, down from over 250 in 2022—a 58.8% decline. The current development activity index is just 1,072, its lowest in over two years. This means fewer updates, fewer new features, and slower innovation overall.
Daily usage numbers also show that Cardano is falling behind. In the last 24 hours, only 35,982 addresses were active on Cardano. Ethereum had 469,431 active addresses in the same period—more than 13 times as many.
Despite the recent rally, technical indicators suggest the price may not rise much further. ADA was rejected at $0.772, a strong resistance level. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) hit 83.6, which is a sign that the asset might be overbought.
The MACD indicator still shows some upward momentum, but the trend could slow. ADA needs to stay above $0.711 to avoid falling to $0.60. If it can move higher, the next resistance levels are $0.836 and $0.866.
Why Retail Dominance Could Be a Problem
When most of a coin is held by small retail investors, the network can become unstable. These investors may sell during price drops, causing sudden falls. They also don’t have the capital or long-term plans that large investors or institutions do.
Without whales and developers backing the network, it becomes harder for Cardano to fund development, build new apps, or attract users.
