Cardano (ADA) Under Pressure at $0.37: Is the Cardano ADA Selloff Maturing or Just Getting Started?

Price action for altcoins remains fragile as traders reassess risk, with Cardano ADA now hovering around support after the latest wave of selling.

Daily timeframe (D1): macro bias – Bearish, but not capitulated

Trend structure – EMAs

– Price (close): $0.37
– EMA 20: $0.40
– EMA 50: $0.46
– EMA 200: $0.62

Cardano’s ADA is trading below the 20, 50 and 200-day EMAs. The 20 < 50 < 200 stack confirms a mature downtrend, not just a random dip. The gap between price and the 200-day EMA (around $0.62) is wide, which tells you the market has been repricing ADA lower for months. At the same time, price is only modestly below the 20-day EMA ($0.40), so the short-term leg down is not yet extremely stretched. This favors trend continuation with intermittent mean-reversion pops, rather than an immediate V-shaped recovery.

Momentum – RSI

– RSI 14 (D1): 37.6

Daily RSI is below 40 but not yet oversold. That is classic for a controlled downtrend. Sellers are in charge, but there is still room for further downside before we reach exhaustion. It is weak enough to keep dip buyers cautious, but not weak enough to scream capitulation. In other words, any bounce from here is more likely a bear-market rally unless RSI can reclaim the 45–50 region and hold.

Momentum confirmation – MACD

– MACD line: -0.03
– Signal line: -0.03
– Histogram: ≈ 0

The daily MACD is negative, but the line and signal are basically on top of each other, with the histogram near zero. The downtrend is no longer accelerating; momentum has flattened out. That often precedes either a sideways consolidation or a slow grind lower. It is not giving a clean reversal signal, but it does say the fast money part of the selloff has likely passed for now.

Volatility and range – Bollinger Bands & ATR

– Bollinger Bands (20,2):
  • Mid: $0.40
  • Upper: $0.46
  • Lower: $0.34
– ATR 14 (D1): $0.02

Price is trading below the mid-line and closer to the lower band at $0.34. The band span ($0.34–0.46) is reasonably wide, but the ATR at just $0.02 indicates average daily moves are modest relative to the overall range. Put simply, ADA is weak but not in a high-volatility panic. That favors slow, grinding price action, where short squeezes can appear but often get faded near the Bollinger mid or upper band unless the macro picture improves.

Short-term reference levels – Daily pivot

– Pivot Point (PP): $0.37
– R1: $0.37
– S1: $0.36

The automated pivot levels clustering around $0.37–0.36 highlight this zone as a near-term balance area. Holding above $0.36 keeps ADA in a controlled pullback. However, a clean break and daily close below $0.36 would likely open the door for a test towards the lower Bollinger band near $0.34.

1H timeframe: intraday bias – Bearish, but stabilizing

Trend – EMAs on 1H

– Price (close): $0.37
– EMA 20: $0.37
– EMA 50: $0.37
– EMA 200: $0.38
– Regime: bearish

On the hourly chart, price is sitting right at the 20 and 50 EMA cluster, just below the 200 EMA. That is what a short-term pause inside a broader downtrend looks like. Intraday structure is trying to base, but as long as ADA cannot reclaim the hourly 200 EMA around $0.38 with conviction, bears still own the higher ground.

Momentum – RSI & MACD on 1H

– RSI 14 (1H): 47.2
– MACD line: 0.00
– Signal: 0.00
– Histogram: 0.00

Hourly RSI is hovering just under 50, which is neutral-to-soft: neither aggressive selling nor strong dip-buying. The flat MACD lines confirm it, as intraday ADA has slipped into a small equilibrium zone. In practice, this means 1H is not actively fighting the bearish daily trend, but it also is not amplifying it right now. The next impulse out of this 1H balance will likely decide whether price retests $0.36 or tries to squeeze towards $0.40.

Range and noise – Bollinger Bands & ATR on 1H

– Bollinger Bands (1H):
  • Mid: $0.37
  • Upper: $0.38
  • Lower: $0.36
– ATR 14 (1H): ≈ 0

The bands are tight around $0.37 and ATR is near zero on the hourly, so the market is in a low-volatility coil. That typically precedes a volatility expansion. The direction of that break will likely follow the daily bias (down) unless a strong catalyst appears. For now, intraday traders are dealing with a cramped range, where breakout attempts can easily whipsaw.

15m timeframe: execution context – Neutral, short-term bounce potential

Trend & momentum – 15m

– Price (close): $0.37
– EMA 20 / 50 / 200: all around $0.37
– RSI 14 (15m): 58.0
– MACD: flat around 0
– Regime: neutral

On the 15-minute chart, ADA is coiled around its short EMAs, with RSI pushing toward 60. That is a mild short-term upside bias inside a flat micro-structure. For active traders, this is the kind of setup where small intraday rallies, for example tests of $0.38–0.39, can appear without changing the bigger picture at all.

Given that the 15m is mildly constructive while the daily is decisively bearish, any strength on this timeframe should be treated as potential fuel for better short entries or partial profit-taking for existing shorts. It is not a confirmed trend reversal.

Market backdrop & Cardano DeFi context

The broader crypto market is in a defensive stance: total market cap around $3.06T, down about 2% in 24 hours, and BTC dominance above 57%. Extreme Fear at 24 means participants are de-risking. Altcoins such as ADA typically suffer more in this phase as capital concentrates in BTC and stablecoins.

Interestingly, on-chain activity in Cardano DeFi is not dead. Major DEXs like Minswap, SundaeSwap V2, WingRiders have seen strong 30-day fee growth with triple- to quadruple-digit percentage gains. Even so, the last 24 hours saw pullbacks in fees. That points to a gradual fundamental engagement on the chain, but in the current macro, the market is not rewarding that with price appreciation yet. For traders, this is more of a medium-term narrative tailwind than a short-term trading signal.

Scenarios for ADAUSDT

Bullish scenario: mean reversion off support

For bulls, the path is through mean reversion, not trend following. The setup would be:

1. Defense of $0.36–0.34: The lower band area holds on daily closes, with intraday dips below $0.36 being bought back quickly.
2. RSI stabilization: Daily RSI floors above 35 and grinds back into the mid-40s, reflecting a loss of downside momentum.
3. Hourly breakout: On 1H, ADA reclaims and holds above the 200 EMA (~$0.38), turning that level into support rather than resistance.
4. First upside target: A push into the daily Bollinger mid and the 20-day EMA cluster around $0.40–0.41.
5. Extension: If broader market risk appetite returns, as BTC stabilizes and fear eases, a squeeze toward the upper band or EMA50 around $0.46 becomes possible. That would still be a counter-trend move within a larger bearish structure.

What invalidates the bullish scenario?
A clean daily close below $0.34, coupled with daily RSI breaking under 30, would suggest the market has shifted from controlled downtrend to fresh capitulation. That would push the focus back to downside discovery rather than mean reversion.

Bearish scenario: continuation of the downtrend

The dominant probability, as long as the macro stays risk-off, is trend continuation.

Key elements would be:

1. Failure at $0.38–0.40: Intraday bounces stall below the hourly 200 EMA and the daily 20 EMA, with sellers repeatedly defending that zone.
2. Break of $0.36: Hourly and then daily closes below $0.36, turning it into resistance and pushing price towards the lower Bollinger band at $0.34.
3. Momentum rollover: Daily RSI drifts from the high 30s toward the low 30s without a strong bounce, while MACD stays negative and begins to widen down again.
4. New range lower: After a tag or break of $0.34, ADA establishes a new, lower consolidation area. In a stressed environment, that could develop into a broader $0.28–0.34 range, depending on BTC and overall market liquidity.

What invalidates the bearish scenario?
A sustained move above the daily 20 EMA and the $0.40–0.41 area, backed by daily RSI reclaiming 50 and hourly structure turning clearly higher, would weaken the bearish continuation case. In that situation, higher highs and higher lows above $0.38 would matter. Bears would then need to treat rallies closer to $0.46 as fresh decision points rather than assume a straight-line move lower.

Positioning, risk, and how to think about ADA here

Daily structure is bearish, hourly is stabilizing but not reversed, and 15m is neutral with a slight intraday bullish tilt. That mix typically favors:

– Trend traders leaning with the daily downtrend, looking to sell strength into $0.38–0.40 rather than chase weakness into $0.34.
– Mean-reversion traders taking the opposite side only at well-defined extremes. That means buying near the lower band or $0.34 with tight risk, or fading sharp spikes toward $0.46 if they arrive on weak breadth.

Volatility is relatively contained right now, with low ATR on intraday charts, which can change quickly once this tight range breaks. With market sentiment still in Extreme Fear and BTC dominance elevated, altcoin beta cuts both ways. ADA can underperform on further risk-off, but it can also snap back hard if the market finally breathes out.

In short, ADA at $0.37 is in the weak half of its range but not yet in a capitulation zone. The edge lies in respecting the prevailing downtrend while being ready for abrupt, sentiment-driven squeezes as fear peaks.