Cardano (ADA) whales, who have been instrumental in driving the cryptocurrency’s price by 270% in the last 30 days, have now sold a bunch of tokens. This sell-off comes ahead of this week’s token unlock, which market participants expect will cause volatility. 

As of this writing, ADA trades at $1.23. Will this sell-off draw the price down further?

Cardano Key Holders Offload Some Tokens

On Monday, December 2, Cardano’s large holders’ netflow reached 63.58 million ADA, reflecting a strong buying trend among whales. The netflow metric tracks the difference between tokens bought and sold by these key players. A rising netflow indicates accumulation, while a decline indicates selling pressure.

As of now, the netflow has plunged to 7.62 million ADA, according to IntoTheBlock, suggesting that whales offloaded 55.96 million ADA — either to take profits or rebalance their portfolios. At Cardano’s current price, this sell-off amounts to a staggering $69 million.

From BeInCrypto’s observation, the recent sell-off may be tied to the upcoming token unlock on December 6. 

Token unlocks, which release previously restricted tokens into circulation, often drive significant price movements by altering supply and demand dynamics.

According to Tokenomist (formerly Token Unlocks), Cardano is set to release 18.53 million ADA on that date, valued at $22.79 million. This anticipated supply shock could introduce volatility, potentially hindering the altcoin’s ability to sustain an uptrend during this period.

ADA Price Prediction: Overbought, Retracement Likely

On the daily chart, Cardano’s Bollinger Bands (BB) have widened, indicating heightened volatility. The BB also highlights whether an asset is overbought or oversold.

When the price touches the upper band, it signals an overbought condition, while contact with the lower band indicates oversold territory. Therefore, the image below confirms the thesis that ADA is overbought.

The Relative Strength Index (RSI), which measures momentum, also aligns with the bias. When the RSI reading is above 70.00, it is overbought. On the other hand, when the reading is below 30.00, it is oversold.

At press time, Cardano’s RSI stands at 82.15, firmly placing ADA in overbought territory. Given this condition, a price correction to $0.92 could be next. However, if Cardano whales resume accumulation, the trend could shift, potentially pushing the price above $1.33

Japanese crypto exchange DMM Bitcoin is finally closing after a $320 million hack. The company attempted to recover customer assets for several months but is now transferring accounts to SBI VC Trade.

Lazarus Group, a North Korean Hacker Group, was probably responsible for this hack; Japanese financial regulators warned other exchanges to enact stricter security measures.

DMM Bitcoin to Close

According to The Nikkei, DMM Bitcoin, a Japanese crypto exchange, is being liquidated. This comes several months after a $320 million hack targeted the platform, severely disrupting operations. The company’s social media accounts do not mention this closure, and its blog is apparently down.

However, DMM Bitcoin did release a statement while the blog was still live.

“With the protection of our customers as our number one priority, we have decided to transfer all accounts and assets held with us to another company. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused to you over such a long period of time. As a result, the company plans to discontinue its business once the transfer is complete,” said DMM Bitcoin, quoted externally.

In other words, the closure was a difficult decision. Despite the severity of the May hack, DMM Bitcoin still attempted to remain solvent: in June, for example, the company conducted a fundraiser to recoup users’ stolen assets. Its success at this remains inconclusive. The firm abandoned the effort and will transfer its remaining assets to SBI VC Trade, an exchange operator.

After the hack, renowned crypto sleuth ZachXBT accused Lazarus Group, a North Korean hacker group, of involvement in the attack. ZachXBT traced some $35 million from this hack to a Cambodian money laundering service and discovered strong evidence of Lazarus’ involvement. Nonetheless, DMM Bitcoin did not greatly benefit from this knowledge.

Although crypto hacks are notably declining, criminals still carry out sophisticated and successful operations. The need to only use secure and trustworthy crypto exchanges is as present as ever. Japan’s financial regulators warned other Japanese exchanges about the necessity of oversight and registration less than a week before DMM Bitcoin’s closure.