The price of Cardano (ADA) has dropped by 7.25%, reaching $0.474 on May 22, just two days after cryptocurrency analyst Justin Bons accused the blockchain project of extreme centralization. Bons claimed that Input Output Global (IOG), Cardano's parent company, controls five out of seven of the blockchain's "genesis keys." These cryptographic keys were used to sign and establish the initial block of the Cardano blockchain in 2015.

Bons argued that the control of these keys allows IOG to push out code changes seamlessly without requiring a hard fork. He further stated that this level of control means IOG could halt the blockchain, alter emission schedules, and censor transactions, which he considers an unprecedented degree of centralized control for a Layer 1 chain. Following Bons's comments, ADA's price decline triggered a bearish setup, raising concerns of a potential further 30% price crash by June.

Cardano's current price correction follows after it encountered resistance at a descending trendline, part of a symmetrical triangle pattern. This pattern is seen as a bearish continuation indicator when it forms during a downtrend. It consists of two converging trendlines, one ascending and one descending. According to technical analysis, this pattern typically resolves when the price breaks below the lower trendline and falls by an amount equal to the triangle's height. As of May 22, ADA's price was correcting after testing the triangle's upper trendline and is now expected to retreat towards the lower trendline around $0.44 by the end of May.

If ADA decisively breaks down from this symmetrical triangle, its price could drop further to the $0.336-0.366 range, representing a decline of approximately 20-25% from current levels, depending on where the breakdown occurs. However, there is a potential for a broader rally if ADA's price rebounds from its multi-month ascending trendline support. A significant upside move could occur if the price surpasses its 50-period and 200-period exponential moving averages (EMA) on a three-day chart. In such a scenario, ADA's initial target would be around $0.67, which has previously acted as resistance in December 2023 and May 2022.

Despite the ongoing correction and accusations of centralization, Cardano whales appear to be accumulating ADA. The ADA supply held by the largest addresses, those holding between 10 million to 1 billion ADA, has increased in the past 24 hours. This trend suggests that these large holders are buying the dip in anticipation of future gains. Data shows a notable increase in ADA holdings among entities with 10 million to 100 million tokens since the end of March, while those holding 100 million to 1 billion tokens have been steadily increasing their holdings, particularly since mid-March.