ADA jumps after Van Rossem upgrade; whales buy as traders eye $0.20 breakout

Published: 2026-07-21 13:34:59 |

Cardano (ADA) rallied after the Van Rossem hard fork activated Protocol Version 11 on July 18, with the price up about 9% intraday (around $0.176) and trading near $0.1745 at the time of reporting. The move is linked to renewed spot demand and whale accumulation during the prior sell-off, lifting risk appetite. Technically, ADA is attempting to build a 4-hour rounding bottom from the July 13 low near $0.155, with the neckline around $0.20. Traders are watching resistance around $0.177 and a liquidation-heavy zone near $0.180. If ADA can push toward $0.20, the setup implies roughly +14.6% upside from current levels. Momentum and flows are supportive on the 4-hour chart: MACD stays bullish and Chaikin Money Flow remains above zero. Daily signals are mixed, with Stochastic RSI elevated and ADX relatively low (~15), suggesting the broader uptrend is not fully confirmed. Derivatives add fuel—and risk. Cardano futures open interest rose to about $445M and funding turned positive (+0.0042%), which can amplify liquidations if momentum fades. Wallet concentration also improved, with 100K–100M ADA holders collectively reaching about 25.6B ADA (highest since Feb 2023). Key risk: DeFi activity remains weak (TVL near $86M). Separately, a Wanchain-linked bridge exploit reportedly drained ~515M NIGHT tokens (~$9M). Macro uncertainty (oil/U.S.-Iran) and technical invalidation also matter: a breakdown below $0.169 would weaken the rounding-bottom thesis, with next supports near $0.165, $0.160, and $0.155. For traders, the near-term focus is whether ADA can reclaim and hold above the $0.18–$0.20 area while digesting bridge-security headlines.

Bullish

The latest coverage reinforces the bullish setup for ADA: the Van Rossem (Protocol Version 11) activation coincides with renewed spot demand and whale accumulation, while 4-hour momentum indicators (MACD bullish, CMF above zero) support continuation toward the $0.20 neckline. However, derivatives are also more crowded (rising open interest, positive funding), meaning pullbacks could trigger liquidations. Combined with weak DeFi TVL and a Wanchain-linked bridge exploit headline, the upside is likely bullish but volatile—traders should expect fast reactions around $0.177–$0.180 and confirm strength through $0.20. A loss of $0.169 would tilt the picture toward bearish invalidation of the rounding-bottom thesis.