Large investors dominate Cardano's market, controlling nearly two-thirds of available tokens for the first time in three years.

In a notable trend, major stakeholders of Cardano's ADA token have been steadily amassing their holdings over the past two years, notwithstanding the chain's relatively subdued activity. According to data from Santiment, wallets with balances of at least one million ADA now collectively hold a staggering 25.09 billion tokens, accounting for 67.47% of the total supply - a historical high. This significant concentration of wealth in the hands of large investors has been building uninterrupted since December 2023 and marks the highest level of whale dominance since July 2020.

Meanwhile, the ADA token has experienced a substantial decline in market capitalization, shedding 71% of its value over the past nine months. This downward trend suggests that large holders have been taking advantage of the weakness in price to increase their positions. In contrast, Cardano's decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem has been experiencing a downturn, with total value locked (TVL) plummeting to $137 million - a drastic 80% drop from its peak of $686 million in December 2024, as reported by DefiLlama.

A closer examination of the chain's activity reveals a daily decentralized exchange (DEX) volume of $1.95 million, with chain fees amounting to $1,767 over the past 24 hours. Furthermore, the chain's revenue stood at $353, while the number of active addresses within a 24-hour window was 15,975. These metrics imply that the primary focus of ADA investors is on long-term investment strategies rather than leveraging on-chain opportunities.

As of Friday's Asian trading hours, ADA was trading at $0.27, with a market capitalization of $9.96 billion. Notably, the token has been one of the poorest performers among the top 10 cryptocurrencies since the broader market peaked in late 2024. Interestingly, the accumulation of ADA by large investors has been occurring throughout this period of decline, rather than following it.