ADA faced renewed pressure on March 25 as short interest climbed to its highest level since June 2023. Market data pointed to a sharp rise in bearish positioning, showing that traders were selling ahead of a key week for the Cardano-linked ecosystem. The move came after months of weak price action and slow on-chain growth.
The broader backdrop remained fragile. ADA stayed far below its previous cycle peak, while network activity remained modest compared with its market value. Data from Santiment also showed that the average wallet active on Cardano over the past year sat at a loss, which added to the negative tone around the asset.
Cardano Short Interest | Source: X
Midnight and Monument Bank Target £250M in Tokenized Deposits
At the same time, Midnight Foundation announced a new partnership with Monument Bank. The plan is for Monument to become the first UK-regulated bank to tokenize retail customer deposits on a public blockchain. The first phase targets £250 million in tokenized deposits, making it one of the closely watched banking moves linked to Midnight so far.
The structure keeps those deposits fully backed and redeemable in pounds sterling. The product will also remain within existing regulatory protections. Midnight said the deposits will be represented as interest-bearing digital tokens, giving customers a blockchain-based savings format while keeping the familiar legal and banking framework in place.
Cardano CEO Charles Hoskinson added, “This is one of the largest deals we've ever done and could bring hundreds of millions to billions of TVL to the Midnight ecosystem. I'm extremely proud of the team for the hard work they put into the negotiations with Monument.”
Privacy Remains Central to the Rollout
Midnight said its privacy-enhancing infrastructure will keep transaction data shielded and visible only to authorized participants. That model is aimed at regulated financial institutions that want blockchain efficiency without exposing customer information on open networks. In this case, privacy is being presented as a tool for compliance and controlled access, not for anonymous activity.
That approach gives the Monument rollout a different profile from earlier crypto banking experiments. The focus is not on open speculation or unrestricted transfers. It is on regulated deposits, customer protection, and controlled visibility. Midnight is trying to position its network as a venue where banks can move traditional products on-chain without changing the rules governing them.
Midnight Launch Adds to Cardano Ecosystem Growth
The timing matters because Midnight is moving toward launch while ADA traders remain cautious. The network is expected to start with a federated set of node operators, including large technology and infrastructure firms. That gives the project a stronger institutional profile at launch and places more attention on whether real usage can follow the technical rollout.
For ADA holders, the question is whether Midnight can support wider growth across the Cardano ecosystem. Midnight uses its own token design, so direct network demand does not flow neatly into ADA. Even so, supporters of the project have argued that a successful privacy-focused network could attract new users, fresh liquidity, and more activity around connected services and applications.
ADA shorts have reached their highest level since June 2023 as Midnight and Monument Bank target £250 million in tokenized deposits. Yet Cardano’s on-chain activity remains low compared with ADA’s market value.
Traders are watching whether the Monument plan can shift attention from weak sentiment to a more practical use case tied to regulated finance.
