Cardano (ADA) price fell today, reflecting investor caution ahead of the blockchain’s first hard fork in two years.
Chang Hard Fork Brings On-Chain Governance to Cardano
The price of ADA has fluctuated between ups and downs over the past 48 hours. On August 30, it fell 1.5% to $0.35, wiping out almost all of the gains it had made the previous day.
ADA/USDT daily price chart. Source: TradingView
This bullish and bearish slump reflects traders’ uncertainty about the impact Cardano’s Windows hard fork could have on the ADA market.
The network upgrade will begin on September 1 and will allow users to participate in on-chain governance, a feature that is also available on major Cardano competitors such as Solana (SOL) and Ether (ETH).
relevant: Cardano (ADA) Loses Top 10 Cryptocurrencies Spot Due to Tron’s Growth
This means that ADA holders can elect representatives (dReps) who will vote on improvement proposals and future technical changes to the Cardano blockchain, which could theoretically improve the network and potentially increase demand for the token.
However, ADA has underperformed the broader cryptocurrency market in 2024, particularly its blockchain competitors. The Cardano token has fallen 45% since the beginning of the year, compared to Solana’s 26.75% gain and Ethereum’s 6.75% gain over the same period.
Year-to-date performance of the top 15 crypto assets by market cap. Source: Messari
ADA Price Falls with Falling Wedge Pattern
Cardano’s intraday losses are part of a multi-month descending wedge pattern characterized by two descending and converging trend lines and decreasing volume.
In early August, ADA retested the upper trendline of the wedge as resistance and has since fallen 15%, including today’s 1.5% drop. As shown below, the cryptocurrency could continue to decline until it reaches the wedge’s peak around $0.26.
ADA/USD daily price chart. Source: TradingView
However, a falling wedge pattern usually leads to a bullish reversal trend when the price breaks the upper trendline and rises the maximum distance between the upper and lower trendlines.
Applying the same technical rules to ADA’s falling wedge, the upside target for October would be in the range of $0.47 to $0.65, depending on the breakout point.
This article does not contain any investment advice or recommendations. All investment and trading moves involve risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making decisions.