ADA Shorts Surge to Highest Levels Since 2023 Following Midnight’s £250M Monument Deal
March 26, 2026
ADA shorts have surged to their highest level since June 2023, putting pressure on the cryptocurrency as Midnight Foundation and Monument Bank set their sights on a £250 million tokenized retail deposit venture. This increase in bearish positioning signifies that traders are offloading their positions ahead of a critical week for the Cardano ecosystem. The uptick in shorts comes after a prolonged period of lackluster price movement and sluggish on-chain development.
The wider landscape for ADA remains precarious, with the cryptocurrency trading well below its previous cycle peak and with network activity showing only modest growth relative to its market capitalization. Data from Santiment reveals that on average, wallets active on the Cardano blockchain over the past year have recorded losses, adding a negative sentiment surrounding the asset.
In a strategic move, Midnight Foundation has forged a new partnership with Monument Bank to tokenize retail customer deposits on a public blockchain, aiming to make Monument the first UK-regulated bank to adopt this approach. The initial phase of the collaboration is set to target £250 million in tokenized deposits, marking it as a highly anticipated move within the Midnight ecosystem.
The tokenized retail customer deposits at Monument Bank will be fully backed and redeemable in pounds sterling, staying within existing regulatory guidelines and protections. Customers will have their deposits represented as interest-bearing digital tokens, providing them with a blockchain-based savings solution while maintaining the familiar legal and banking structures intact.
Commenting on the collaboration, Cardano CEO Charles Hoskinson expressed his satisfaction with the deal, stating, “This is one of the largest deals we’ve ever done and could bring hundreds of millions to billions of TVL to the Midnight ecosystem. I’m extremely proud of the team for the hard work they put into the negotiations with Monument.”
Privacy remains central to the rollout of the tokenized deposits, with Midnight implementing a privacy-enhancing infrastructure to shield transaction data from unauthorized parties, ensuring that only authorized participants have visibility. This privacy-focused model caters to regulated financial institutions seeking the efficiency of blockchain technology while safeguarding customer information from exposure on open networks.
In contrast to previous experiments in crypto banking, the emphasis in the Monument rollout is on regulated deposits, customer security, and controlled visibility, moving away from open speculation and unrestricted transfers. Midnight is positioning its network as a venue where banks can seamlessly transition traditional products onto the blockchain without altering the existing regulatory frameworks.
The impending launch of Midnight coincides with a cautious sentiment among ADA traders. The network is anticipated to commence operations with a selection of federated node operators, including prominent technology and infrastructure companies, bolstering the project’s institutional credibility at launch. The focus now shifts to whether the technical deployment can drive actual usage within the ecosystem, providing ADA holders with a framework to gauge the broader growth potential of the Cardano network.
While ADA shorts have reached their peak since June 2023 and Midnight and Monument Bank rally towards a £250 million tokenized deposit mark, Cardano’s on-chain activity continues to lag behind its market valuation. Traders await the Monument initiative to potentially shift focus away from subdued sentiment towards a practical application in regulated finance, signaling a pivot towards a more utility-focused narrative.
