Cardano (ADA), the native token of the Cardano blockchain, extended its recent losses on Friday, trading below $0.168 after buyers failed earlier in the week to push the token above resistance at the 50-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA).

The move left ADA under several major technical levels, while derivatives and on-chain data showed a divided market backdrop. According to CoinJournal, the long-to-short ratio for ADA remained above one, but funding rates turned negative, and large Cardano holders continued to accumulate tokens.

Derivatives indicators show conflicting positioning

Cardano’s derivatives market is presenting mixed signals. According to CoinGlass data, ADA’s long-to-short ratio stood at 1.07 on Friday.

A ratio above one means more traders are positioned for price gains than for declines, indicating a modest bullish bias among leveraged traders. However, other derivatives indicators showed a weaker picture.

Cardano perpetual futures funding rates moved into negative territory on Thursday and remained near -0.014 on Friday. Negative funding rates mean short-position holders are paying long-position holders, a structure that is typically associated with increased bearish positioning and expectations of additional downside.

The gap between the bullish long-to-short ratio and negative funding rates underscores the lack of clear agreement among derivatives traders over ADA’s next major move. For actively traded crypto assets, derivatives positioning can matter because leverage can amplify price moves when traders are forced to adjust positions around key support or resistance levels.

On-chain data showed that some larger investors have continued to buy despite recent price weakness. According to Santiment, wallets holding between 1 million and 10 million ADA, as well as wallets holding between 10 million and 100 million ADA, have accumulated approximately 120 million ADA since Monday.

By contrast, wallets containing 100,000 to 1 million ADA have shown relatively little activity. The concentration of buying among larger holders may point to continued confidence in Cardano’s longer-term outlook, although the accumulation has not yet been sufficient to produce a broader shift in market sentiment.

ADA remains below key moving averages

From a technical perspective, Cardano continues to trade within a broader bearish structure. ADA remains below the 50-day EMA at $0.176, the 100-day EMA at $0.202, and the 200-day EMA at $0.267.

The failure to reclaim those moving averages suggests sellers still control the medium-term trend. Momentum indicators also point to a market without a clear directional bias.

The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is hovering near 48, reflecting broadly balanced buying and selling pressure rather than a strong trend. The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) remains slightly above the zero line, suggesting that recovery attempts have continued at times, but bullish momentum remains comparatively weak.

A previously broken long-term downtrend line near $0.197 has also become an important resistance area. For bullish momentum to strengthen, ADA would need to move through nearby resistance levels, including $0.176, which aligns with the 50-day EMA, and $0.197, the former long-term trendline resistance.

A sustained move above those levels would improve Cardano’s short-term technical outlook.

On the downside, traders are monitoring $0.150 as immediate horizontal support and $0.138 as key Fibonacci support. A break below $0.138 could expose ADA to new lows and reinforce the broader bearish trend.

Cardano remains under selling pressure after failing to reclaim the 50-day EMA, while mixed derivatives indicators continue to reflect uncertainty among market participants. ADA’s ability to hold above $0.150 and reclaim the $0.173 to $0.176 resistance zone remains central to whether the token can develop a stronger recovery attempt or extend its recent decline.