Cardano (ADA) spot trading volume on decentralized exchanges has collapsed more than 95% since early January — falling from a peak of roughly $1.49 million on Jan. 6 to approximately $68,552 by Jan. 22 — yet large holders have responded by accumulating over 1 billion ADA, worth an estimated $360 million to $380 million at current prices.
What Happened: Spot Volume Crashes
The volume decline tracked by Dune Analytics reflects only spot trades, meaning actual buying and selling rather than leveraged positions.
That distinction matters because it suggests retail participation has largely stepped away from the market.
ADA lost its 20-day exponential moving average in mid-January. The token has previously shown sensitivity to this indicator, with similar breakdowns in October preceding a 55% decline and another in December leading to a 25% correction.
Addresses holding more than 1 billion ADA began accumulating around Jan. 14. Their combined holdings rose from 1.92 billion ADA to 2.93 billion ADA during the correction.
A second cohort, wallets holding between 10 million and 100 million ADA, added roughly 30 million tokens starting Jan. 17.
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Why It Matters: Short Squeeze Potential
The accumulation came after the trend break became obvious. Both whale groups bought into visible weakness rather than chasing momentum.
Derivatives positioning has moved sharply in the opposite direction.
Short positions now total $22.12 million in leverage across perpetual futures, with Binance showing short liquidation exposure roughly 2.5 times larger than long exposure. That imbalance creates conditions where modest buying could force rapid short covering.
Short liquidation pressure begins building near $0.37 and increases meaningfully above $0.39. The bearish case regains control only if ADA breaks and holds below $0.34.
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