Whales on the Cardano ecosystem took advantage of the recent cryptocurrency market dip to keep accumulating, after realizing some of their gains when the price surpassed the $1.15 mark earlier this month.

According to data shared by popular cryptocurrency analyst Ali Martinez, when Cardano traded between $1.15 and $1.33, Cardano whales sold their tokens to realize their gains before the price of the cryptocurrency dip. 

As it moved to $0.91, they took advantage of the dip to keep accumulating. Per Martinez, whales added 160 million ADA tokens since the price of the cryptocurrency dropped.

The price of ADA surged by more than 80% so far this year to now trade at around $1.02, up from the $0.57 level seen a month ago. The cryptocurrency, however, lost around 6% of its value over the past week amid a wider cryptocurrency market downturn ahead of the Federal Reserve’s expected interest rate cut.

Cardano’s network notably recently underwent its Daedalus v7.0.0. upgrade of full-node desktop wallet software was released, making it easier for users to delegate their voting power to delegated representatives on the cryptocurrency’s ecosystem, while also allowing users to choose automatic voting options to have a voice in Cardano’s governance.

On top of these new features, the upgrade brings in a new voting tab allowing users to select their registration preferences for each wallet held in Daedalus, and is a new step ahead of the Cardano Constitution referendum scheduled for early next year.

Adding to this, rumors have been circulating suggesting that the Cardano & XRP ecosystems may soon form a major partnership, with Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson having revealed he has engaged in discussions with Ripple’s CEO Brad Garlinghouse. 

It’s currently unclear what such a collaboration can entail, although rumors suggest Cardano’s privacy-focused side chain Midnight could be involved, as could an integration of XRP with Cardano’s smart contract platform.