Cardano has become the strongest weekly performer among the top 100 cryptocurrencies after ADA gained about 25%. The token reached $0.195, its highest level since July 4, while most major altcoins posted smaller gains. Market data also shows Cardano’s capitalization rising 24% over the past seven days. The move comes as wallet numbers fall and network development advances across several Cardano projects.
Cardano Tops the Weekly Crypto Rankings
Data shows ADA rising 25.03% over seven days to about $0.1956. That gain places Cardano ahead of every other cryptocurrency in the top 100 by market value. The advance also gives ADA a clear lead over other major weekly gainers during a choppy period for the broader altcoin market.
ADAUSD | Source: CoinCodex
Algorand ranked behind Cardano with a 13.99% weekly increase. Pi gained 11.06%, while Ethena rose 10.34% during the same period. Polkadot added 9.79%, Pump.fun climbed 7.38%, and Monero gained 6.75%. Cardano’s return nearly doubled Algorand’s gain, creating a wider performance gap than the other leading assets recorded.
ADA also recovered from levels near $0.16 before reaching the $0.19 area. The rise improved Cardano’s market position without a matching increase across the full altcoin sector. That difference placed the token at the top of the weekly rankings rather than within a broad market rally.
Falling Wallet Numbers Accompany ADA Rally
Santiment data shows Cardano has 7,070 fewer non-empty wallets than it had two months ago. The decline suggests many smaller holders sold, closed positions, or stayed outside the market during ADA’s recovery. Cardano still advanced to a one-month high despite the lower number of addresses holding a balance.
A rising price alongside fewer holders can point to supply moving toward buyers with larger positions. Santiment linked the pattern to weak retail confidence, with smaller traders yet to return in large numbers.
Cardano Wallet Numbers | Source: Santiment
The wallet decline also separates the current move from rallies where retail participation expands quickly. New demand has lifted the price while the number of funded addresses has contracted. That pattern gives market participants a clearer view of who may be absorbing available supply.
Whale Buying Supports Cardano Price Recovery
Recent on-chain activity also shows large Cardano holders adding to their balances. Whales accumulated about 240 million ADA within five days, lifting their combined holdings to roughly 14.5 billion tokens. The purchases took place as ADA moved from about $0.16 toward the $0.19 range.
Large purchases can reduce the amount of ADA available for short-term trading when holders move tokens away from exchanges. That pattern can support price stability during periods of lower retail participation. However, whale activity can change quickly, and current balances do not guarantee that large holders will keep buying at the same pace.
The accumulation data offers one explanation for ADA’s strength against other top 100 assets. Larger holders added exposure as retail wallet counts declined. This combination allowed Cardano to gain faster than tokens that recorded stronger participation but weaker buying pressure.
Network Upgrades Add Support to the Move
Cardano developers are working across several parts of the network. The Leios testnet ranks among key projects, and developers aim to improve transaction processing through Leios. Hydra development focuses on scaling, while Mithril upgrades aim to make node synchronization and network operations more efficient.
Cardano has also added Pyth Network’s oracle infrastructure, which gives applications access to external market data. Meanwhile, the Catalyst program distributes funding to projects building within the ecosystem. These developments give traders information beyond price action through work on capacity, data access, and developer support.
