Big backers of Cardano are accumulating the cryptocurrency after a solid performance last quarter.

Cardano whales have collectively added 348 million ADA ($0.57), Cardano’s native coin, to their holdings this week, market data from Santiment shows. That amounts to more than $200 million in buying activity, as whales have scooped up nearly 1% of Cardano’s total supply during the period.

The buying binge began after Cardano fell to $0.5, a price point that onchain analyst Ali Martinez says has been a trigger for “strong rebounds for Cardano since November 2024.”

Cardano traded at $0.57 on Tuesday, representing a 7% increase over the last week, which aligns with the uptick in buying activity. Still, ADA is down 6% on the day, amid a broader decline in the crypto market.

The buying spree comes despite the lack of updates from the Securities and Exchange Commission about pending Cardano exchange-traded fund applications. Grayscale’s Cardano ETF filing deadline lapsed last month without any word from the SEC.

The approval freeze is due to the ongoing US government shutdown, which has curtailed the activities of federal agencies, including the SEC.

On Monday, the US Senate passed a bill to end the shutdown, and it is now awaiting approval from the House of Representatives.

Despite the ETF freeze, Cardano proponents have reasons to be optimistic.

Cardano reported positive growth figures for the last quarter. The price gained 41% during the period, surpassing Bitcoin’s 16%, XRP ($2.43)’s 27%, and Solana’s 34%.

Its DeFi sector, though relatively small compared to the likes of Ethereum and Solana, also grew during the period. Cardano’s onchain market rose 30% while NFT ($0.00) volumes spiked sevenfold, DefiLlama data shows.

Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has lamented the slow pace of Cardano’s DeFi development.

In September, investors approved a plan to inject $33 million in stablecoin liquidity to Cardano’s DeFi sector.

Osato Avan-Nomayo is our Nigeria-based DeFi correspondent. He covers DeFi and tech. Got a tip? Please contact him at osato@dlnews.com.