Cardano (CRYPTO: ADA) surged about 11% Monday while Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC), Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) and XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) spiked only around 1%, respectively.
Cardano Leads a Quiet Market
CoinDesk reported Monday that ADA climbed to more than 27 cents, its highest price since May.
Bitcoin and Ether gained just 1% and 0.5%, and Bitcoin remains stuck in its $84,000 to $87,000 range.
Meanwhile, the US Dollar Index rose to 102.53, its highest level since April 2025, which often pressures crypto.
What May Be Behind the Move
CoinDesk noted the exact trigger is hard to pin down, but two developments could be pulling in buyers:
- RealFi product: launched Oct. 1, it lets users move stablecoins into institutional credit for yields of up to 9% a year
- Dijkstra upgrade: its first phase arrives between late December and early 2027, aiming to boost transaction speed
As Benzinga reported last month, Cardano also joined the x402 payments kit, which lets AI agents pay for web services in ADA.
The Catch: Trading on the Network Is Shrinking
YouTube channel Cheeky Crypto pointed out that Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson publicly defended the project’s progress after months of criticism, and shorts betting against ADA were forced to buy back as the price jumped.
Even so, trading volume on Cardano’s decentralized exchanges fell from nearly $12 million to roughly $3 million over 24 hours.
That suggests the rally came from price speculation, not new activity on the network.
Money may be moving elsewhere in the ecosystem. Midnight (CRYPTO: NIGHT), a privacy-focused network tied to Cardano, jumped about 91% in a week to just under 5 cents.
Traders appear to be positioning for its V8 upgrade this quarter, which adds smart contracts that keep transaction details private.
ADA Price Analysis: Key Levels to Watch
ADA trades around $0.27 after breaking out of its downward channel. The Parabolic SAR, a trend indicator, flipped bullish.
However, the RSI reads 73.08, which signals overbought conditions and a possible cooldown.
- Resistance: $0.2752, then $0.28
- Support: $0.26 (breakout zone), then $0.2432 (SAR)
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