Digital assets fell on Thursday as the crypto market reeled from an overnight sell-off. The declines came alongside a sharp drop in U.S. equities and precious metals, with Nasdaq 100 futures trading down.
Futures open interest fell 3.5% to $108 billion as funding rates turned negative, with traders increasing short positioning.
At the time of writing, ADA was down 6.06% in the last 24 hours to $0.2584. Cardano's price drop comes amid a golden cross on its hourly chart.
The 50 MA crossed above the 200 MA on the hourly chart, indicating a golden cross — a surprising setup despite the price drop.
The Cardano price fell despite a golden cross, trapping bulls. ADA spot trading volume has fallen 18% in the last 24 hours as traders stay on the defensive.
Across the broader crypto market, crypto positions worth $253 million were liquidated, with longs liquidations accounting for the majority at $203 million, while shorts came in at $50 million.
Most cryptocurrencies still remain in a price range that has continued since early February despite multiple attempts to break out to the upside.
Cardano holders who bought in the past year are sitting on average losses of about 43%, putting the cryptocurrency in an on-chain "opportunity zone" that might foreshadow a price recovery.
Derivatives data show ADA funding rates at their most negative since June 2023, indicating a heavily crowded short trade that might see a potential short squeeze rather than further declines.
In positive news, Monument Bank, a regulated U.K. challenger bank, announced plans to tokenize up to £250 million of retail customer deposits on the Midnight network, a privacy-focused blockchain built on Cardano.
Many believe this marks one of the first uses of a public blockchain for retail deposit tokenization by a regulated bank.