Cardano Flashes Bottom Signals as Traders Turn Bearish Amid Deep Losses

Santiment reports that Cardano (ADA) may be entering a critical accumulation phase, even as investor sentiment remains deeply negative. According to the analytics firm, average wallet returns have dropped by roughly 43% over the past year, while ADA itself has plunged more than 70% since September.

Extreme losses spark “buy zone” debate

This sharp decline has pushed Cardano’s MVRV (market value to realized value) ratio into deeply negative territory, historically a signal that an asset could be undervalued. Santiment describes this phase as an “opportunity zone,” where risk is relatively lower for long-term investors.

The reasoning is rooted in market cycles, when the majority of traders are sitting on losses, the likelihood of a reversal tends to increase. In their view, professional traders and large stakeholders often see such conditions as attractive entry points.

📉 Average wallets that have been active on the Cardano network over the past year are netting a return of -43% on their investments. Memes aside about the altcoin’s major -71% price decline since September, this extreme negative MVRV value is generally an indicator of $ADA being… pic.twitter.com/LzQRKhobQe
— Santiment (@santimentfeed) March 24, 2026

Despite these signals, market confidence remains fragile. Cardano, once firmly in the top 10 cryptocurrencies, has slipped to 13th place by market capitalization according to CoinMarketCap, reflecting its prolonged struggle to regain momentum.

Bearish bets rise across Altcoins

Adding to the pressure, Cardano’s funding rates on Binance show the highest short-to-long ratio since mid-2023. This indicates that a large portion of traders are betting on further price declines, ironically, another pattern often seen near market bottoms.

Historically, heavily skewed funding rates can trigger sharp reversals, as crowded positions become vulnerable to liquidation in the opposite direction. Cardano is not alone in its downturn. Solana has dropped nearly 70% from its 2025 highs, while Dogecoin and Bitcoin Cash remain down over 80% from peak levels. Chainlink has also struggled, failing to capitalize on the real-world asset tokenization narrative.

Still, not all altcoins are under pressure. Tron, Hyperliquid, and UNUS SED LEO have shown relative resilience.

For now, ADA has posted a modest 2.5% daily gain to around $0.26 but remains far below its 2021 peak, leaving the market divided between caution and cautious optimism. Cardano is also moving firmly into the multichain era with the integration of LayerZero. The upgrade will connect Cardano to more than 160 blockchains, including Ethereum, Solana, Arbitrum and BNB Chain.

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