A long-dormant Cardano (ADA) whale has torched more than $6 million in a single swap after attempting to move 14.4 million ADA, worth around $7 million, into USDA, a Cardano-native stablecoin, in a low-liquidity pool.
The trade left the wallet with just 847,000 USDA, an estimated 87% loss, and reopened tough questions about Cardano’s DeFi readiness.
The Costly Transaction
According to on-chain investigator ZachXBT, the whale wallet had been dormant for roughly five years before executing the swap, which temporarily pushed the USDA price far above its peg due to thin liquidity.
Lookonchain reported the transaction at 14.45 million ADA, with a valuation just north of $7 million, resulting in the user receiving 847,694 USDA and incurring a loss of approximately $6.2 million.
Screenshots shared by community member $DeFiPunk show the DEX interface flashing a “high price impact” warning and estimated slippage of over 87%, with the user manually ticking the “I understand this warning” checkbox before confirming the transaction.
That has sparked debate over whether this was a reckless move, an honest mistake from an “inexperienced voucher holder,” as Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson suggested, or even a deliberate attention play to highlight liquidity issues.
Reactions from the Cardano community were mixed. Some, like Cardano YOD₳, argued that “one bad swap can have negative reputational consequences” and questioned whether the ecosystem has its priorities right, pointing to marketing and governance debates instead of basic liquidity.
Others countered that the issue was primarily “a liquidity first problem, and a DEX problem second,” criticizing the slow delivery of UX upgrades and the need for better batching solutions.
Hoskinson, responding on X, called it a “teachable moment” for scaling Cardano’s DeFi in 2026, while firmly rejecting calls to compensate the whale.
Market Pressure and Ecosystem Demands
The multimillion-dollar blunder marks a continuation of a period of pressure for Cardano, with on-chain data from earlier in the month showing whales offloading 4 million ADA in a week as prices dropped from above $0.60 to roughly $0.53, further deepening bearish sentiment.
Just days later, on November 11, there was renewed accumulation, with other large holders scooping up nearly 1% of the supply during a dip below $0.50, leading analysts to predict a possible rebound if ADA could reclaim the $0.70 area. This has not yet occurred, with the asset, which is ranked the eleventh-largest in terms of market cap, trading around $0.50, down approximately 17% in the last week and 22% over the past 30 days, according to CoinGecko data.
Meanwhile, the episode has intensified calls for greater stablecoin liquidity on Cardano. Commentator Lorenzo argued plainly, “We need to 10x the stablecoin liquidity withdrawal right now.” This sentiment was echoed by others who believe the incident proves there is a substantial demand for moving capital on the network, but a lack of infrastructure to support it. However, Hoskinson repeatedly asserted, “It is not my job to bring a stablecoin to Cardano,” placing the responsibility on the broader ecosystem.
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