Top 10 Cardano Holders: Who Owns the Most ADA in 2025?

While ADA, the native cryptocurrency of the Cardano platform, is yet to reach its all-time high of 2021 at $2.80, the token saw incredible growth in the 2024 bull run, surging by more than 160% in a year from $0.3818 to around the $1.10 mark as of December 2024.

While the market was buoyant in 2024, spurred on partly by Donald Trump’s win in the 2024 U.S. presidential elections, Cardano has also seen success on its own.

Charles Hoskinson, the founder of Cardano, is a prominent name in the cryptocurrency industry and has made headlines for his extremely bullish Bitcoin (BTC) price predictions — expecting the coin to reach $250,000 to $500,000 in the short term.

But who owns the most ADA? It is wise for buyers to understand the movements of crypto whales — individuals who have the power to influence market prices due to the large size of their trades.

In this article, we explore the top 10 ADA holders as of December 2024.

Table of Contents Table of Contents

1. Key Takeaways
2. Top 10 ADA Holders: How Decentralized Is Cardano?
3. Why Knowing Who Owns the Most ADA Matters
4. Cardano Whales Are Buying the Dip
5. ADA is Relisted on Robinhood
6. Did the Chang Hard Fork Influence the Cardano Rich List?
7. The Bottom Line
8. FAQs
9. References

Show Full Guide

Table of Contents

1. Key Takeaways
2. Top 10 ADA Holders: How Decentralized Is Cardano?
3. Why Knowing Who Owns the Most ADA Matters
Show Full Guide
4. Cardano Whales Are Buying the Dip
5. ADA is Relisted on Robinhood
6. Did the Chang Hard Fork Influence the Cardano Rich List?
7. The Bottom Line
8. FAQs
9. References

Top 10 ADA Holders: How Decentralized Is Cardano?

ADA whale figures are accurate as of December 17, 2024

Why Knowing Who Owns the Most ADA Matters

While the identities of the top 10 wallers are unknown, it is reassuring to know that the top address owns less than 5% of all tokens. Coin ownership seems fairly decentralized.

Cryptocurrency whales play a crucial role in the cryptocurrency industry by influencing market liquidity, price movements, and overall investor sentiment.

Speaking with Techopedia, Vijay Pravin Maharajan, the CEO and founder of bitsCrunch, the AI-enabled decentralized blockchain data network, added that understanding the biggest holders of ADA allows investors to properly assess market risks and overall token stability, especially in situations like a bull cycle.

“Sudden whale movements can either dramatically lift smaller investors or put them underwater rapidly. We’ve seen countless examples of how massive buy or sell orders can cause sharp price spikes or drops, triggering panic or speculative behavior.”

ADA was launched in 2017 by the former co-founder of Ethereum (ETH), Charles Hoskinson, along with former Ethereum executive assistant Jeremy Wood, and was seen as the next-generation evolution of the Ethereum ecosystem for running smart contracts and supporting the development of decentralized finance apps, new crypto tokens, games and more.

The maximum supply of ADA stands at 45 billion tokens. As of the time of writing (December 2, 2024), the current total supply of ADA stands at 44.99 billion tokens, according to data on CoinMarketCap.

On CoinCarp, the total supply of ADA tokens is also 44.99 billion. However, CoinCarp notes that the circulating supply is over 35 billion.

The top 100 Cardano whales collectively own over 22% of all tokens in circulation on the mainnet. Meanwhile, the top 10 Cardano owners hold 9.99% of the total circulating supply. The total number of ADA holders surpasses 3.5 million people.

Cardano Whales Are Buying the Dip

A report by Ali Martinez, a technical and on-chain analyst, revealed that some of the biggest Cardano holders bought over 130 million ADA during the recent price dip when the cryptocurrency fell to around $0.30 at the start of November.

BitsCrunch’s Maharajan noted that such whale behavior is a good indicator of a new sense of confidence among investors, reflecting their strong expectations of future upward price movements.

“This bullish surge underscores Cardano’s growing acceptance, as we continue to see a conveyor belt of fresh capital hoovering up ADA in the market.”

Following the purchase activity, the ADA token surged by about 185% in one month, up from the $0.3 level to $0.9.

ADA is Relisted on Robinhood

In mid-November 2024, the prominent American financial services company Robinhood re-listed several cryptocurrencies on its crypto exchange, including Solana (SOL), Pepe (PEPE), XPR and Cardano (ADA).

In a statement, the Vice President and General Manager of Robinhood Crypto, Johann Kerbrat, said:

“We’ve consistently heard from our customers that they want access to more digital assets, and we’re excited to continue expanding our crypto offering.

“With lower barriers to entry, we believe crypto presents an opportunity for those who have been historically left behind by the traditional financial system.”

Robinhood delisted the assets after they were named in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit (SEC) as unregistered securities in a legal action lawsuit against Binance and Coinbase. The re-listing comes after the SEC lost its case and filed for an appeal in October 2024.

bitsCrunch’s Maharajan explained:

“ADA has seen explosive growth this month, driven by new features that enhance overall utility, as well as major exchange listings that have boosted visibility and liquidity – attracting new investors and strengthening community confidence.

“The perception of ADA as a sleeping giant has rung true.”

Did the Chang Hard Fork Influence the Cardano Rich List?

The Cardano Chang upgrade went live at the start of September 2024, marking a major milestone for the Cardano blockchain, ecosystem, and community and finally allowing for on-chain governance and turning ADA into a governance token.

The new community governance structure established three user-led governance bodies: the Constitutional Committee, the Delegate Representatives (dReps), and the Stake Pool Operators (SPOs), who are now in charge of triggering chain upgrades and hard forks.

Iit is unsure whether the Chang upgrade had a big influence on how many Cardano holders there are, but the introduction of on-chain governance could influence ADA whales in the long run, as it empowers key community-led governance bodies.

If the top ADA holders have significant control over the circulating supply, they may have a disproportionate influence on the decision-making process within this new governance structure, potentially shaping the future direction of the Cardano network.

Anndy Lian, an inter-governmental blockchain advisor, told Techopedia:

“In proof-of-stake systems like Cardano, whales have more influence over network operations and governance due to their large holdings. This can impact decisions on network upgrades, protocol changes, and other governance issues.”

The Bottom Line

Cardano has shown impressive growth over the past year, with a 160% surge in value since November 2023, despite not yet reaching its 2021 all-time high. The cryptocurrency market has gained momentum following Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential win, but Cardano’s own achievements, such as the Chang hard fork and the involvement of founder Charles Hoskinson in policy development, have also contributed to its success.

The top Cardano holders, often large institutional or whale investors, control a significant portion of the ADA supply, with a high potential to influence price movements and overall market stability. The recent re-listing of ADA on Robinhood and large-scale purchases during price dips demonstrate increasing confidence in Cardano.

With the introduction of on-chain governance, the role of whales may evolve, giving them even greater influence over the network’s future direction.

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