Cardano's native token, ADA, is retaining most of its weekly price gains even as activity on the network's decentralized exchanges (DEXs) has retreated almost as quickly as it spiked.

At the time of writing, ADA traded at $0.2158, up 1.61% for the session. The token remains above $0.20 despite pulling back from a recent peak near $0.258.

A short-lived burst of trading activity

Daily trading volume on Cardano-based decentralized exchanges reached approximately $56 million on August 22, according to data from DeFiLlama, an analytics platform that tracks on-chain trading activity across blockchains. Unlike turnover on centralized exchanges, DEX volume captures trades executed directly on the network's own protocols, making it a commonly watched real-time signal of on-chain activity.

Volumes stayed unusually elevated over the following days, ranging between $16 million and $32 million, before falling back to roughly $1 million.

Measured from the highest day to the most recent reading, that represents a decline of about 98%. However, the drop does not indicate that normal Cardano activity suddenly collapsed. The data shows daily volumes generally remained below $5 million from April through the first half of August, meaning the recent spike was an exceptional move that has since faded back toward its previous range.

Futures open interest — the total value of outstanding derivative contracts that have not yet been settled — has also declined, falling from $582.14 million on August 22 to approximately $485.32 million. A decline in open interest generally reflects contracts being closed rather than opened, which suggests some traders reduced their ADA holdings following the price move.

Can ADA defend its recent gains?

Cardano's price climbed from around $0.175 before briefly reaching $0.258, but that move was quickly rejected and the price returned to the $0.21 area.

The latest chart, however, does not show buyers abandoning ADA entirely. The token has recovered from a low of $0.2075, while activity has settled after becoming overheated during the rally.

The first test lies between $0.208 and $0.20. Remaining above that area would preserve much of the recent recovery and leave room for another attempt at $0.228, while a fall below $0.20 would weaken that position and could return attention to the earlier trading area around $0.17.

For now, ADA's price is holding up better than the network's decentralized trading activity, though whether that continues may depend on buyers returning now that the initial excitement has passed. Upcoming DeFiLlama readings will show whether on-chain turnover settles back into the sub-$5 million range that preceded the spike, while futures data will indicate whether open interest keeps unwinding.

Summary

Cardano's daily DEX volume fell roughly 98% from its August 22 peak. ADA remains above $0.21, with $0.20 emerging as the key area for buyers to defend.

Source: AMBCrypto