Key Takeaways
Did Cardano whales buy the dip after the crash?
Wallets holding 10M-100M ADA rose sharply between October 10-11.
What does the derivatives data say about trader sentiment?
Funding rates flipped positive after the crash, so traders are cautiously turning bullish again.
Cardano [ADA] steadied on the 11th of October after a sharp 20% sell-off, as whale investors bought the dip during broader market turbulence.
In fact, large holders accumulated millions of ADA during the downturn, helping to limit further losses and bringing in early signs of a possible recovery.
Cardano bounces back after flash liquidation
In the hours following the crypto market’s record $19 billion liquidation event, ADA saw heavy selling pressure that pushed the price to a low near $0.62.
Source: TradingView
The short-term RSI was around 45, while the Chaikin Money Flow (CMF) went into positive territory; subtle accumulation. As whales stepped in, the coin stabilized around $0.645, beginning a tentative recovery.
Early signs suggested ADA may attempt to reclaim momentum, but the short-term market may remain cautious following the historic sell-off.
Whales come back
Between the 10th and 11th of October, Santiment data showed a sharp rise in ADA holdings among wallets holding between 10 million and 100 million tokens, jumping from roughly 466 to 472 wallets.
Source: Santiment
This uptick in large-holder addresses came right after the market-wide liquidation, so perhaps whales took advantage of the crash to accumulate discounted ADA.
Buying by large investors often shows long-term confidence in the asset and can help steady prices during times of high volatility.
Traders sleep with one eye open
After the historic crash, ADA’s Derivatives market showed a steep drop in Open Interest (OI), plunging sharply as leveraged positions were wiped out.
However, data from the 11th of October onward showed a gradual stabilization, with OI settling near 284 million.
Source: Coinalyze
At the same time, the Funding Rate flipped back to positive 0.1544, reflecting renewed long exposure and improving trader sentiment.
That shift aligned with whales re-entering spot markets, hinting that both derivatives and on-chain data pointed toward cautious optimism.