Cardano (ADA) is currently trading around $0.285 as of February 18, 2026, struggling to breach the critical resistance level of $0.29 that has halted its upward momentum.
This past weekend, ADA faced a setback, rejected at the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement level of $0.29, leading to a drop of 4.47% in one day. Since then, the price has remained relatively stable, hovering near $0.28.
As per the latest data from CoinMarketCap, ADA is trading at $0.2853, marking a slight increase of 1.25% for the day, and holds a market capitalization of $10.27 billion, with a 24-hour trading volume around $389.86 million.
Recent trends have shown a decline in futures Open Interest (OI), currently at $436 million, which indicates dwindling trader participation as it moves closer to the February 12 low of $407 million. Normally, a decrease in OI suggests that fewer traders are engaging in the market.
Coupled with this, funding rates for Cardano futures have dipped into negative territory, now at -0.0130%. This trend reflects a growing sentiment among traders that a further price decline is likely, with a similar situation observed around February 6 when ADA experienced a notable drop.
Whale Accumulation Signals Potential Support
Despite the current downward pressures, there is a glimmer of hope as on-chain analytics from Santiment reveals that whale wallets holding between 1 million to 100 million ADA have gathered approximately 240 million tokens since February 11. This accumulation strategy typically indicates that whales are finding value at these lower price levels, which can serve as a potential support base for the market.
However, this accumulation has yet to translate into a price uptick. Adding to this narrative is the trend in social dominance for ADA, which has been steadily declining since late December. On February 18, social dominance for Cardano fell to 0.038%, suggesting that public interest and discussion around ADA is waning.
Technical Insights and Key Levels to Monitor
From a technical analysis perspective, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) is currently at 44, indicating bearish momentum, while the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) has shown a bullish crossover as of February 13, a signal that traders will be observing closely. Analysts note that this contradiction could imply potential future movements.
For traders looking for crucial price levels, pivot point analysis indicates support at $0.2806, $0.2744, and $0.2702, while resistance levels are set at $0.2910, $0.2952, and $0.3013. A breach below these support levels could see ADA drifting towards $0.24, while a daily close above $0.29 might pave the way towards the 50-day EMA around $0.32.
Long-term projections remain optimistic with estimates from analysts placing the 200-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) at $0.5508 and the 50-day SMA at $0.3465. As of the latest data, ADA is trading at $0.2853, reflecting a 1.25% increase today.
