Cardano (ADA) Forms a Bearish Flag Pattern, Targeting $1.48–$1.50 Zone

On May 12, 2025, ADA/USD formed a bearish flag pattern on the daily chart. This pattern appears when a short-term upward channel forms after a sharp downward move, often

On May 12, 12, 2025, ADA/USD formed a bearish flag pattern on the daily chart. This pattern appears when a short-term upward channel, or a flagpole, forms after a sharp downward move, often signaling that the price may drop again in the same direction.

If this bearish flag breaks below the lower trendline, it may confirm the pattern. In that case, ADA could fall nearly 40% from its current price of $2.47, targeting the $1.48–$1.50 zone. This level matches the height of the earlier downtrend before the flag formed.

At the same time, ADA is struggling to hold above the $2.40 support. The volume has dropped, which often happens during the flag’s formation. If volume spikes during a breakdown, it could strengthen the bearish move.

Meanwhile, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) is around 64. This shows the token is not yet overbought but also has room to fall. The 50-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) sits at $2.23 and may act as short-term support. If ADA breaks below this EMA, it could speed up the drop.

Currently, traders are watching the lower trendline. If ADA closes below this line with strong volume, the bearish flag could trigger further losses.

Cardano Changes Its Development Approach

Cardano is changing how it grows. On May 10, 2025, Charles Hoskinson said the blockchain will move to a faster and more open development model. The goal is to speed up upgrades while keeping the platform secure.

This new model will let outside developers work more closely with core teams. Smaller, more flexible groups like Aiken and Midgard will now join the process. At the same time, Cardano will still use formal methods through Input Output’s verification team.

Before this change, Cardano mainly focused on safety over speed. It used very strict rules and planned for the long term. While that made the blockchain extremely secure, it also slowed down development and limited outside contributions.

However, Hoskinson pointed out that early developers purposely avoided deadlines and thought in terms of decades.

“The team didn’t want deadlines, focused on purity of practice, and thought in terms of years and decades. This benefited us tremendously in an age of unsafe practices, but also made it difficult for Cardano to grow and thrive.”

Smaller Teams Will Help Speed Up Growth

Now, Cardano will combine both speed and safety. Smaller teams will work on developing updates quickly, and the formal group will be focused on checking the code quality.

“In 2025, we are opening up the ecosystem augmented by small agile teams like Aiken and Midgard, while preserving the knowledge, experience, and the rigor with IOR and our formal methods group using Agda. We also see different clients that will and should challenge the assumptions, designs and features of prior teams to accommodate new protocols, economic realities, and our progress as a community.”

According to Hoskinson, this approach will let Cardano adapt to new needs and become a more dynamic platform.

“We are going to be needing to adapt to new protocols, economic realities, and progress as a community. But the good news is that we are prepared for this. We have always been a community-driven project, and we are committed to working together to build the best possible future for Cardano.”

Also, some members of the community might not like this change as they prefer the old way of doing things. But ultimately, Hoskinson believes that this new approach is necessary for Cardano to stay ahead in the fast-changing crypto industry.

“There are times I miss the old days. But the new days will be filled with even greater opportunities and exciting new capabilities. That’s the nature of all great products and projects.”

Team Changes After Upgrade Delay

This shift has already led to some internal changes. Some developers were let go after allegedly trying to delay the Leios upgrade until 2028.

However, Jeff Watson, Engineering Director at Input Output, confirmed that they are now hiring more contractors from within the Cardano ecosystem to help move the Leios upgrade forward.

“We are in the process of hiring new contractors through the Cardano ecosystem, vendors with existing Networking expertise. Some time will be needed for onboarding but this is within an acceptable timeframe.”

As crypto giants like Block and Coinbase lay off employees, blockchain platforms like Ethereum and Solana are quickly pushing through upgrades to stay competitive.

In a previous interview, Hoskinson mentioned that they are planning to launch the Midnight sidechain later this year. This sidechain will offer users the ability to make a limited number of free transactions using NFTs. These NFTs will act like access passes, allowing their holders to perform daily transfers without needing to pay any ADA in gas fees.

The Midnight sidechain is still under development, and there is no confirmed launch date yet. However,