Cardano (ADA) price action has been volatile this week, dropping over 30% after a strong start to the month. Currently trading at around $0.62, ADA finds itself near a critical support level. The recent decline stems from rejections near the $1.00 mark during Q3 and continues to weigh on sentiment. However, fundamentals suggest investors should remain cautiously optimistic. Founder Charles Hoskinson recently highlighted the ambitious goals for Cardano’s privacy-focused sidechain, Midnight, aiming to become a leading private smart contract platform by 2026. This ambition is supported by data – smart contract deployments surged 45% in Q3, fueled by integrations like Brave Wallet’s 84 million users. Meanwhile, whale activity has increased significantly, with two significant holders accumulating over $150 million worth of ADA between October 12th and 17th.