Cardano price has plunged into a bear market by over 24% from the year-to-date high; technicals in the DeFi industry point to more downside.
Cardano (ADA) token dropped to $0.7736, its lowest level since Aug. 12, mirroring the performance of most altcoins like Ethereum and Solana.
One of the key fundamental reasons for the plunge is the Cardano’s decentralized finance ecosystem has underperformed its peer chains. The total value locked has plunged to $320 million, its lowest level in months and much lower than the year-to-date high of $680 million.
Cardano has not had any major new DeFi applications in its ecosystem this year. The biggest names in its ecosystem are platforms like Liqwid, Minswap, and Indigo.
Meanwhile, Cardano is not benefiting from the recently passed GENIUS Act as the total stablecoin supply in its network has dropped by 4.4% in the last seven days to $37 million. This supply is much smaller than other newer blockchains like Unichain, Linea, and Plasma.
Cardano’s decentralized exchange ecosystem has also gone quiet, with the volume continuing to falling. These DEX networks handled just $1.4 million in the last 24 hours.
Additionally, there are signs of little institutional demand for Cardano as only Grayscale has filed for a spot ADA ETF. In contrast, coins like Solana (SOL) and Ripple (XRP) have attracted at least 7 applications.
A technical analysis suggests further downside for the Cardano price in the coming weeks. It has formed a rising wedge pattern on the daily chart. A closer look reveals that it has already moved below the lower side of this pattern, indicating further downside.
Cardano price has also formed a head-and-shoulders pattern and has already crashed below the neckline.
ADA price has plunged below the 50-day and 100-day Exponential Moving Averages, a sign that bears have prevailed.
The Average Directional Index has moved to 22, indicating that the downtrend is intensifying.
Therefore, these patterns suggest a potential downside, potentially reaching the June low of $0.5095, which is approximately 35% below the current level.
