Cardano leads top 10 with 10% gain – But sentiment says bulls aren’t back

ambcryptoPublished on 2026-03-17Last updated on 2026-03-17

Abstract

Cardano (ADA) led the top 10 cryptocurrencies with a 10% price increase in 24 hours, accompanied by a 144% surge in daily trading volume. Despite this rally and positive technical indicators like bullish MACD and net buy volume, market sentiment remained bearish at only 25%. ADA faces strong resistance at $0.30, with concerns over whale distribution and high leveraged long liquidations suggesting limited upside. The rally was primarily driven by futures market activity rather than organic DEX volume, indicating cautious optimism amid underlying bearish pressures.

Cardano climbed 10% in the past 24 hours, leading the top ten cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.

Daily trading volume jumped 144% to $839 million at press time, signaling renewed trading activity across ADA markets.

The rally coincided with broader market strength. The crypto market rose 3.19%, while the Altcoin Season Index climbed to 46.

That reading suggested altcoins drove much of the market’s recent momentum.

Analyzing the top 10 cryptos’ performance

Despite leading daily gains, Cardano [ADA] ranked among assets with the most bearish sentiment.

CoinMarketCap data showed ADA sentiment near 25%, the fifth-lowest among the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.

TRON [TRX] also appeared on the list with sentiment near 24%.

However, this weak sentiment raised concerns around Cardano’s stability within the top ten rankings.

Cardano’s market capitalization stood roughly $400 million ahead of Hyperliquid [HYPE], leaving a limited buffer against a ranking shift.

Source: CoinMarketCap

That sentiment aligned with recent distribution activity among ADA whales. Large holders had reduced positions earlier this week.

Such a distribution introduced additional selling pressure before the current rally began.

Even so, the top ten cryptocurrencies traded mostly higher during the same period.

That shift left traders watching Cardano’s technical setup closely.

Can ADA breach $0.30?

The price action chart showed ADA was rising toward the $0.30 resistance level that had been the top for the one-and-a-half-month range.

The Cumulative Volume Delta (CVD) was positive, with the indicator showing a net buy volume of 40.44 million ADA. Additionally, the MACD was green with increasing bars, indicating bulls were gaining strength.

The key question rested on ADA surpassing $0.30 despite having rejected a breakout more than three times. However, a breakout would push the altcoin to $0.36, which was its second most recent lower high.

Source: ADA/USDT on TradingView

Conversely, ADA could revisit the $0.25 zone if the range movement continued, as previous reactions showed. That said, what was driving the day’s rally that outpaced all its peers?

Cardano’s Perps vs. DEX volumes

Cardano was driven by the trading volume on the futures market rather than that on decentralized exchanges (DEXs). As per DefiLlama, the Perpetual Volume was $5.79 million, which was more than 5x that of DEXs at $871K.

Source: DeFiLlama

In fact, CoinGlass data from all exchanges showed that there was a total of $23.79 million in cumulative long liquidation leverage compared to $12.28 million in shorts.

Altogether, Cardano led the top chains with daily gains from leveraged bull positions and a short-term bullish technical outlook. However, sentiment and whale distribution could mean the altcoin is far from breaking out of the range.


Final Summary

Related Questions

QWhat was the percentage gain for Cardano (ADA) in the past 24 hours, and how did it rank among the top 10 cryptocurrencies?

ACardano (ADA) gained 10% in the past 24 hours, leading the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.

QDespite its price gain, what was the market sentiment for ADA, and how did it compare to other top cryptocurrencies?

ADespite the price gain, ADA's market sentiment was near 25%, the fifth-lowest among the top 100 cryptocurrencies. TRON (TRX) also had weak sentiment near 24%.

QWhat key resistance level was ADA approaching, and what was the potential price target if it broke out?

AADA was approaching the key resistance level of $0.30. A successful breakout could push the price to $0.36, which was its second most recent lower high.

QWhat was the primary driver behind Cardano's rally, as indicated by the trading volume data?

AThe rally was primarily driven by trading volume in the futures (perpetuals) market, which was $5.79 million, more than 5 times the volume on decentralized exchanges (DEXs) which was $871K.

QWhat two concerning factors, despite the bullish price action and technicals, suggest that ADA may be far from a true breakout?

ADespite the bullish technical outlook, two concerning factors were the overwhelmingly bearish market sentiment and recent distribution activity by large holders (whales), which introduced selling pressure.

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