Cardano Whales Are Accumulating ADA at Record Levels While Prices Sit at a Discount

[kevin1]

Wallets holding at least 1 million Cardano tokens now control 25.09 billion ADA, the highest combined balance ever recorded according to on-chain analytics firm Santiment. That gives this cohort of large holders 67.47% of the circulating supply, the biggest share held by ADA millionaires since July 2020. The accumulation has been relentless, with the group adding another 410 million tokens since the start of 2026 alone, all while ADA has declined more than 20% this year and sits around $0.267 at the time of writing. Santiment noted that these large holders have been consistently adding to their positions since December 2023, treating each price dip as an opportunity to acquire more supply rather than a reason to exit.

The context makes the scale of this accumulation even more striking. ADA has lost 71% of its market cap over the past nine months, yet the whale cohort has responded by buying more rather than reducing exposure. Large holders typically operate on much longer time horizons than retail participants, and sustained accumulation at depressed prices is generally interpreted as a signal of conviction in the asset's longer-term value. Whether that conviction proves well-founded depends heavily on whether broader market conditions improve, but the consistency and scale of the buying over more than two years suggests this is a deliberate, patient strategy rather than opportunistic short-term positioning.

[tradelikepro]

67.47% supply in whale hands, highest since 2020

[tradelikepro]

Patient strategy confirmed, whether right depends on market