Cardano defends $0.20 demand zone again, but here’s what will shape price trends next

Cardano [$ADA] has exhibited interesting price action since the first week of July. The altcoin has been in a long-term downtrend since October 2025. The downtrend, characterized by a series of lower highs and lower lows, set its latest lower high at $0.19 in June.

This lower high was breached in the first week of July, establishing an uptrend on the daily timeframe, as seen above. A series of higher highs has been made since then, showing an uptrend in progress.

This uptrend ran into the $0.255 resistance, which had been important in late April and May earlier this year. The flag breakout attempt, if successful, would present $0.29 as the next price target.

In other news, the Cardano network has officially integrated the x402 codebase. If this can lead to Cardano attracting developers, applications, and payment volume, it could be a solid bullish catalyst for the rest of the year.

On-chain metrics show profit-taking by short-term holders

The MVRV ratio measures the average profit or loss of all $ADA holders of a particular age, using the price at which the token last moved. The 30-day and 90-day MVRVs were positive, showing that these age group cohorts were, on average, holding at a profit.

These findings also hinted at greater risk of short-term holders taking profits and applying sell pressure on the market. The 365-day MVRV was negative, showing that they were facing losses.

Even so, it was at the highest it has been since January.

The mean coin age shows the average number of days Cardano tokens have stayed in their current addresses. Rising trends signal accumulation.

While the 365-day MCA maintained its uptrend, the 90-day MCA has taken a sharp downturn alongside the recent price rally. The age consumed metric also saw its highest spike since June.

Since short-term holders have been becoming increasingly profitable, it is likely that the token movement came from them, for profit-taking purposes.

The short-term Cardano outlook

At the time of writing, the 4-hour swing structure was bullish, with the latest rally originating at the 78.6% retracement level at $0.19. This level had also seen a bullish reaction towards the end of August, making the $0.19 area a short-term demand zone to watch.

The $0.225 area will be the next overhead resistance to watch. If the uptrend continues, the $0.258 and $0.279 levels would be the next targets.

Final Summary

• Cardano has exhibited an uptrend since June, after breaching the $0.19 resistance, which now serves as an important support.
• Cardano’s short-term holders were increasingly profitable after the recent rally and short-term holder selling pressure could stall bullish momentum.