Cardano Surges 18% as Dijkstra Era Planning Gets Underway

Cardano emerged as one of the strongest large-cap altcoins over the past seven days, climbing 18.26%. The price started the week just below the $0.20 mark before rising almost 10% on 2 August, when the network shifted from the completed van Rossem upgrade toward the next major development phase, known as the Dijkstra era. The announcement of planning for this stage appears to have triggered the recent bullish move.

Trading activity shows growing speculative positioning. Open Interest in Cardano contracts surged 40% from $369 million to $519 million since 29 July, even as the number of ADA holders declined. Whale-sized orders were also noted despite falling wallet activity. The price broke above the $0.18 level, a short-term signal of buyer control, and has since gained nearly 30% in ten days. Technical indicators reflected this momentum: the MACD showed strong upward pressure, while the Capital Market Flow indicator registered +0.05, signalling substantial capital inflows.

For the longer view, Cardano faced a bearish swing structure for most of 2026 until early July, when it breached the $0.19 swing high. A daily close above this level flipped the structure bullish. A subsequent pullback to the 78.6% Fibonacci level at $0.15 then generated a bullish reaction, setting the stage for the recent rally.

Short-term momentum favours buyers so long as the $0.18–$0.19 demand zone holds. However, overhead resistance in the $0.230–$0.255 range represents a substantial supply zone that could trigger prolonged sideways action before a breakout becomes possible. Whether Cardano can challenge these levels may depend partly on Bitcoin managing to climb above $67,300.