Cardano’s native token ADA slid nearly 4% over the past 24 hours, extending its weekly losses even as interest around its upcoming Leios upgrade intensified. The price fell to $0.5818, while trading volume spiked 38.4% above its 7-day average, signaling elevated market activity, according to CoinDesk Research’s technical analysis model.

On Thursday, Input Output Global (IOG) — the development company behind Cardano — reaffirmed its vision for Leios, a major upcoming protocol upgrade, through a detailed post on X. Designed to enhance transaction throughput and network efficiency, Leios introduces features like endorsements to optimize performance during peak traffic without compromising security or decentralization.

Originally announced in November 2022, Leios represents a new family of Cardano’s Ouroboros consensus protocol, addressing throughput limitations observed in earlier versions like Praos and Genesis. IOG emphasized that the bottlenecks were not caused by hardware limitations, but by underlying algorithmic constraints. Leios seeks to resolve these with a redesigned architecture, introducing faster chain synchronization, tiered transaction fees, and improved resource prioritization.

The upgrade marks a fundamental shift in Cardano’s technical roadmap. Though complex to implement, it’s seen as potentially transformative. IOG co-founder and CEO Charles Hoskinson stated on May 10 that Leios is expected to go live in 2026, an accelerated timeline compared to the original 2028 projection.

Meanwhile, on-chain activity shows signs of accumulation. Long-term holders continue to withdraw ADA from centralized exchanges — a sign of growing conviction among committed investors.

Technical Analysis Overview

• 24-hour range: ADA moved within a 7.15% band, declining from $0.605 to a low of $0.562, before rebounding slightly.
• Support zone: Heavy trading volume (peaking at 175M) established support between $0.562 and $0.576 during the 17:00 hour.
• Consolidation range: ADA stabilized between $0.573–$0.582 (support) and $0.582–$0.588 (resistance), indicating a short-term consolidation phase.
• Volume trend: Declining volume into support hints at potential accumulation.
• Intraday pattern: A late-session pullback saw ADA fall from $0.585 to $0.582 within a descending channel.
• Key moments: Significant volume spikes occurred at 12:39 and 12:48 (each exceeding 1 million units), highlighting critical inflection points.
• Breakdown: The $0.583 support was briefly breached during the 12:48 sell-off, but the price quickly regrouped around $0.582.