Cardano's ADA has rallied 42% since mid-September, and new on-chain data shows the move is backed by growing open interest and whale buying rather than just short covering. A $2 million long liquidation on October 7, the biggest since Q4 2025, raised bear-trap fears, but open interest and whale transaction data point the other way, with ADA's market cap back above $10 billion.
Cardano just posted its biggest long liquidation since Q4 2025, a $2 million wipeout on October 7. Yet the same data that flagged the squeeze also shows why the rally may still have legs.
A $2 million squeeze follows two short-liquidation waves
ADA's price action has tracked Ethereum closely this quarter: both altcoins are up 71% quarter to date. But while ETH has pulled back almost 2.5% in Q4 so far, ADA has kept climbing, adding another 5% in the same stretch.
The October 7 long liquidation came after two separate waves of short liquidations, each close to $1 million within a single week. Those short squeezes lined up with ADA breaking above the $0.25 resistance level, suggesting the initial leg higher was fueled by short covering rather than new demand.
Open interest and whale activity suggest fresh positioning
Santiment data tells a different story about where the rally stands now. ADA gained around 10% between October 3 and 5, while open interest grew nearly 25% to $304 million, its highest daily close since at least early April. Measured in ADA itself, open interest still grew about 13%, pointing to fresh positions rather than price-driven growth alone.
Whale activity moved in the same direction: transactions above $100,000 hit a peak of 413 on October 5, the highest since June 4. According to AMBCrypto, that combination means the recent long squeeze may not be a bear trap, since short covering alone would not explain the added leverage and whale buying.
Social attention climbs as ADA eyes a DOGE flip
With its market cap back above $10 billion, Cardano is now within range of overtaking Dogecoin's market cap. ADA's social dominance also climbed to 1.16%, its highest level of 2026, as retail attention caught up with the whale and leverage data.
Source: AMBCrypto
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