Cardano (ADA) was one of the few leading cryptocurrencies that had been making gains over the recent sessions despite the weakness in the overall crypto market. However, the news of Bitcoin breaking below the $40,000 level seems to have affected it, causing it to trade bearish on Wednesday.

At the time of writing, ADA/USD is trading at around $1.77, having lost more than 12% of its value over the past 24 hours but still managing to post a gain of almost 2.5% over the past week. Its current market cap sits above $57 billion and it features among the top five cryptocurrencies based on its market cap value, as per data on CoinMarketCap.

The potential Ethereum killer has been in the limelight over the past few days as an interesting alternative to the energy-consuming Bitcoin, which Tesla recently dropped as a payment option before going shopping for a more eco-friendly alternative. The creators behind Cardano have been pitching it as a potential contender for the post, touting it as one of the greenest cryptocurrencies currently existing, piquing the interest of investors even though Tesla is yet to officially take notice of it.

Fundamentals are offering ample reasons to be bullish about Cardano, notwithstanding the current market mood. Earlier in the day, IOHK – the firm behind the blockchain network, announced an upcoming launch of an ERC20 token converter which will allow Ethereum-based tokens to run on Cardano’s proof-of-stake blockchain network. This is a very promising development for the DeFi ecosystem which largely depends on the Ethereum network, but has been bogged down by the POW network’s high transaction fees and congestion.

Also supporting a possible uptrend in the near-term is the launch of a new Cardano ETP by Valour – a subsidiary of DeFi Technologies Inc. Valour’s ETP will be offered to trade on the Nordic Growth Market (NGM) stock exchange, a move that can further increase investor interest in this blockchain network and propel the value of ADA higher in the medium-term.

Key Levels to Watch

The 4-hour price chart of ADA/USD is not offering much hope at the moment, with leading indicators MACD and momentum as well as most moving averages suggesting a bearish bias in the cryptocurrency for now. For now, keep an eye on the immediate support level at the $1.72 level as a break below this can cause Cardano’s price to tumble all the way below $1.50.

If, however, buying pressure does successfully build up from here, we could see ADA price surge all the way beyond the key $2 level and test the resistance at $2.45 in the coming sessions. Any bullish moves in the cryptocurrency will, however, be dictated by the trend in the overall crypto market, although Bitcoin reclaiming the $40,000 level does offer something to look forward to.