Cardano price hangs back as ADA bulls gather strength for 23% upswing

• Cardano price performance has been uneventful, as the token lagged behind while Bitcoin and Ethereum recorded new all-time highs.
• ADA bulls appear to be struggling with the nearest obstacle at the 21 twelve-hour SMA.
• Only a slice above $2.24 would put the 23% rally on the radar. 

Cardano price continues to confuse forecasts ADA teeters between two clearly defined technical levels. Until the Ethereum-killer can overcome the two key areas of resistance, the token can expect a 23% climb toward $2.73. 

Cardano bulls ready to tackle next obstacles

Cardano price presents a lack of clear directional bias as it continues to be sealed within a symmetrical triangle pattern on the 12-hour chart. Despite the recent uptick seen in the cryptocurrency market, witnessing Bitcoin and Ether reach new all-time highs, ADA lagged behind.

It appears that Cardano price is gearing up to tackle obstacles, despite the overwhelming strength of the resistances that are currently intimidating the bulls. The first hurdle for ADA is at the 21 twelve-hour Simple Moving Average (SMA) at $2.16. If the Ethereum-killer manages to slice above this level, the next headwind will emerge at the 23.6% Fibonacci retracement level, coinciding with the 50 twelve-hour SMA at $2.19.

According to the IntotheBlock’s In/Out of Money Around Price (IOMAP), the aforementioned level of resistance would be a challenging level to crack for the bulls, given that it is the largest cluster recorded by the technical metric, as 226,650 addresses purchased 7.82 billion ADA at an average price of $2.19.

ADA IOMAP

If the buyers manage to slice above this stiff hurdle, would see Cardano price tag the upper boundary of the prevailing chart pattern at $2.24. Breaking above the topside trend line of the triangle would put the 23% climb on the radar for ADA, as the bulls attempt to reach for $2.73. 

ADA/USDT 12-hour chart

The bulls’ journey toward the optimistic target would still be tricky, as a resistance line given by the Momentum Reversal Indicator (MRI) has appeared at $2.30, which sits near the 100 twelve-hour SMA acting as a heavy headwind for Cardano price. ADA would also need to clear the $2.36, $2.50 and $2.64, corresponding to the 38.2%, 50% and 61.8% Fibonacci retracement levels, respectively, before reaching the projected target given by the chart pattern.

However, if a spike in sell orders occurs, Cardano price may fall toward the lower boundary of the symmetrical triangle at $2.10 to retest the trend line as support. If this level fails to hold, the bullish outlook may be ruined as ADA may drop toward the 200 twelve-hour SMA at $2.07 and at the same time put a bearish target of a 23% decline at $1.62 on the radar for the Ethereum-killer.