The price of Cardano (ADA) is moving sideways, but accumulation signals are quietly indicating surprises ahead.

Cardano (ADA) continues to remain quiet this week, with a price hovering around the $0.587 mark at the time of writing — although it has slightly increased by 4% compared to last week. Over a one-month period, ADA is still in the red with a fall of 12%, but looking more broadly, this altcoin has risen nearly 60% since the beginning of the year.

The price chart may make one think that the market is "asleep", but the hidden technical signals beneath are revealing a quietly promising movement.

The funding rate indicates that retail investors are still betting on the fall of ADA

On most major exchanges, the funding rate of ADA is currently neutral – a signal that the majority of traders are not leaning towards either the (Long) or (Short) side. In other words, market sentiment remains hesitant, not having truly changed even though ADA has seen a recovery from the $0.50 price range.

Funding rates of ADA | Source: CoinglassFunding rate is the fee paid to maintain leveraged positions in perpetual futures contracts. When the funding rate is negative, it reflects a prevailing expectation of a price fall in the market. However, if too many Short positions are opened, the risk of a "Short squeeze" – forcing sales to close positions – can lead to a strong price reversal. In the current context of the market still in a tug-of-war, just one large buying or selling move from whale investors is enough to break the balance and pull the price in a new direction.

Net outflow from the exchange continues to be negative – Another signal of accumulation

Although the price of ADA has not recorded a significant breakthrough, the net cash flow remains clearly negative. This indicates that the amount of ADA being withdrawn from exchanges is exceeding the amount being deposited – a signal that often suggests investors do not intend to sell in the short term.

The price of Cardano and the inflow of funds into the exchange remains quiet | Source: CoinglassNegative net inflow often reflects the accumulation process. When investors withdraw assets, they tend to transfer them to cold wallets for long-term storage, rather than preparing for a sell-off.

The number of ADA holders continues to increase while the price remains stagnant.

One of the clearest signals indicating long-term confidence in Cardano is the stable increase in the number of wallets holding ADA. Over the past 6 months, data shows that the total number of these wallets has reached a peak since the beginning of the year, hitting 4.5 million wallets – despite the fact that the price of ADA has fallen from $0.90 to $0.58.

The number of holders has surged | Source: SantimentIn other words, long-term investors are still firmly accumulating, despite short-term fluctuations. Although the price is moving sideways, the network of ADA holders across the market continues to expand. This quiet growth trend is often a catalyst for a strong breakout when the market trend reverses.

Price Structure of Cardano: A Descending Triangle Pattern is Forming

On the technical chart, ADA is currently still fluctuating within the framework of a falling triangle model – a pattern that often leans towards a bearish trend. However, it is noteworthy that instead of continuing to weaken, the price is approaching the upper resistance line, near the $0.612 area.

If this resistance level is decisively broken, ADA will open up a clear bullish gap, with a potential target around $0.66. At that point, the breakout momentum could occur strongly. However, it should be noted that this pattern remains negative until a real breakout occurs.

ADA/USDT daily chart | Source: TradingViewOn the contrary, the important support level is around $0.537. Losing this level will weaken the current technical structure and could pull ADA fall deeper into the $0.51 region.

The rare bright spot on the chart right now comes from the OBV indicator (On-Balance Volume). Although the price of ADA has been almost flat recently, the OBV is quietly increasing. This is a classic sign of a stealth accumulation process – when smart money begins to buy in but has not yet created significant price movement.

OBV is a tool for tracking money flow based on trading volume, by adding the volume in bullish sessions and subtracting it in bearish sessions. When OBV rises before the price, it is often a signal that demand is quietly increasing – a positive signal that should not be overlooked.

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