ADA Price Returns to the Upside After Hitting YTD Lows

Summary:
• ADA price declined to YTD low of $0.359 on Tuesday, but has returned to the upside, with holders' eyes on Chang Hard Fork for fresh momentum.

Cardano price returned to the climbing lane on Wednesday, gaining 0.5 percent to trade at $0.387 at the time of writing. ADA is attempting a recovery after hitting a YTD low of $0.359 on Tuesday, underlining its struggles in recent weeks. ADA has been on a bearish run for the most part of the second quarter of the year, and many investors have been holding their breath for its return to the psychological support level of $0.5. However, that mark has been evasive since late April, and the crypto coin formed a death cross in mid-May.

The ADA price action has been largely detached from the larger crypto market, and failed to mirror the upbeat market performance seen following the approval of Ethereum ETF by the Securities and Exchange Commission in late May. Most ADA holders are growing frustrated with a crypto asset that was once touted as a potential Ethereum killer, but whose performance has fallen short of that tag. ADA price is down by 38 percent year-to-date as of this writing, while ETH is up by 50 percent.

Many Cardano investors are counting on the Chang Hard Fork to bring fresh impetus into the crypto asset. The hard fork will come into force in June, and it will transition Cardano to a decentralised governance system. The significant milestone will see ADA holders get voting rights on the Cardano protocol development changes, including control of treasury expenditure, which have been under the control of Input Output Hong Kong (IOHK).  Furthermore, they are hoping that the hard fork upgrade will replicate the success of Alonzo hard fork, which saw ADA price surge by 96 percent within 60 days of the event.

Technical analysis

Cardano price pivots at 0.385, and the momentum will likely push the price upwards if the buyers stay in control above that level. The first resistance will likely be at 0.390, and a break above that could build the momentum to test 0.396. Alternatively, a break below 0.385 will signal control by the sellers, and the first support will likely be at 0.380. If the sellers stay in control at that point, they will likely break the support, and the resulting momentum could invalidate the upside narrative and potentially test 0.375.