Cardano Price Rises 4% Ahead of Hard Fork July 18 Activation
Cardano (ADA) price surged by about 4% to $0.164, slightly outperforming Bitcoin’s +3.07% move, primarily driven by reduced uncertainty around its imminent network upgrade.
ADA moved up as the market reacted to the Van Rossem hard fork, which was ratified and has a confirmed activation date of July 18, 2026, removing a key overhang.
Cardano has confirmed the Van Rossem hard fork (Protocol Version 11) was ratified on July 13 and will be enacted on July 18, 2026.
This upgrade, proposed and ratified entirely through the on-chain Voltaire governance system, updates the Plutus cost model for cheaper smart contract execution and improves ledger and node software.
This reduces execution risk and shifts the focus to the upgrade’s benefits, such as lower smart contract costs. The price reaction suggests the market views the resolved timeline positively, removing a source of uncertainty.
Boosting optimism, on-chain data from Santiment shows wallets holding 100,000 to 100 million ADA have increased their collective balance to over 25.6 billion tokens, the highest concentration since February 2023.
This 1.8% rise over four months contrasts with a 0.7% reduction in holdings by wallets with fewer than 100 ADA, indicating a retail sell-off. The accumulation persists even as ADA trades near multi-year lows, down over 11% in the week prior to the report.
This is a bullish signal for ADA because it shows that deep-pocketed investors are building positions during a period of weak sentiment and price declines, which can indicate belief in long-term value. However, Santiment cautions this setup doesn’t guarantee an imminent price reversal.
Cardano’s gain closely tracked Bitcoin’s +3.07% rise over the same period, indicating the move was partly driven by a broad market uptrend. Total crypto market cap rose 2.67%.
Technically, ADA faces immediate resistance at the 50% Fibonacci retracement level of $0.169. The daily pivot sits at $0.162, which now acts as near-term support.
The outlook is cautiously bullish, contingent on holding above $0.162 and a successful hard fork enactment. A close above $0.169 could signal strength toward $0.176, while a loss of $0.162 may indicate the rally is fading.
The combination of a cleared technical overhang and positive market beta provided a lift, but ADA remains within a broader downtrend. Zcash Gains 13% Ahead of Upcoming Ironwood Upgrade
