Overview
- Intersect confirmed the van Rossem hard fork will activate on Saturday, July 18, 2026 at slot 192,844,800 and infrastructure providers were urged to update before the network crosses the fork boundary.
- On-chain data from Santiment reported that wallets holding 100,000–100 million ADA now own about 25.65 billion ADA, the highest level since February 2023, signaling concentrated accumulation by large holders.
- Futures open interest has risen in mid-July to roughly $421–$445 million, indicating more leveraged positions in the market; at the same time funding-rate readings differ across providers, reflecting short-heavy positioning in some datasets.
- Price structure leaves ADA below key moving averages and near dense liquidity clusters at $0.160–$0.161 and about $0.170, points that could trigger leveraged liquidations or force short-covering if the token moves rapidly.
- Van Rossem will lower execution costs, add Plutus improvements, and prepare the chain for the Leios scaling upgrade, which could boost developer activity and reduce fees but may also make the immediate market reaction volatile for traders and users.