Cardano rallies 23% in September as whales sell 90 million ADA
Cardano (ADA)
Editor:
Eugene Serbin
Tremplin.io reports that Cardano finished September with a 23% gain, yet large investors are now reducing their exposure. Since September 20, whales have sold nearly 90 million ADA, a move worth approximately $22.5 million at the transaction prices. This profit-taking follows a strong monthly rally where ADA lost some ground in the final days of the month.
Open interest in ADA futures contracts dropped by 9% during the same period, falling from $1.99 billion to $1.81 billion. Analyst Ali Martinez identifies these sales as a key short-term factor, noting a TD Sequential sell signal appeared on the daily chart on September 26. This technical indicator coincided with a 10% drop in price, suggesting the market is experiencing more profit-taking rather than an automatic decline.
The movement mirrors a similar pattern observed in August when large holders reduced exposure after a previous rebound. While Cardano completed its first fully governed on-chain hard fork this summer, the market is currently focused on these short-term flows. Technical analysis points to $0.24 as a critical level, with a breakout potentially leading toward $0.21 or a recovery toward $0.28. These levels are presented as technical possibilities rather than guaranteed outcomes for the asset.
How the market reacted
Whalio's own Binance spot order flow for ADA, measured when this story was written up on 2 October 2026. Not the outlet's figures.
Whalio data shows a mixed immediate reaction to the news, with the 1-hour buy ratio at 37.9% indicating short-term selling pressure. However, the 4-hour buy ratio sits at 53.1%, suggesting that buying interest is building over a slightly longer timeframe. The 24-hour buy ratio of 51.2% confirms that buying has been dominant over the full day. Volume delta data reflects this shift, showing a net outflow of $766,506 in the last hour but a net inflow of $512,036 over four hours. Over 24 hours, the volume delta is positive at $854,770, with cumulative volume delta closing at $634,418. This indicates that while immediate selling exists, the broader daily flow remains net positive.
The latest daily buy ratio of 45.6% sits at the 5th percentile of the last 322 days, against a median of 49.2% - among the weakest buying days it has had.
Was that an ordinary day?
The same Binance spot measurements for ADA, averaged over the days leading up to the story.
Comparing today's activity to the preceding week reveals a stable trading environment. The 24-hour buy ratio of 51.2% is nearly identical to the 7-day average of 50.7%, showing a difference of just 0.5 points. Daily volume is slightly below average at 0.82x the weekly norm, but the coin has seen net buying on 5 of the last 7 days. This consistency suggests that today is an ordinary day for Cardano, with no unusual deviation from recent trends. The price change over the past 8 days is a negligible -0.5%, further indicating stability in the face of whale sales.