Crypto Markets Today: NIGHT Crashes as Year-End Caution Hits
Crypto Markets Today will pause starting Wednesday and return Jan. 5 with regular updates. Wishing everyone a happy holiday season.
Risk-off sentiment dominated crypto markets, with Cardano-based Midnight Network’s NIGHT plunging 22% in 24 hours—the worst performer among the top 100 tokens by market capitalization. Other tokens also fell: PUMP down 13%, and MNT, XMR, and ZEC each dropped up to 8%.
Bitcoin (BTC $87,363.32) slid below $88,000 after failing to hold gains above $90,000 on Monday. Volatility may increase following U.S. third-quarter GDP data, expected to show continued economic strength.
Derivatives Update
- BTC futures: Global open interest steady at ~670,000 BTC, slightly lower over 24 hours, indicating muted leveraged activity.
- SOL futures: OI rose to 58.75M SOL, highest since Oct. 10.
- XRP & ETH futures: XRP OI up 1.28%, ETH down 1.7%.
- Funding rates: Slightly positive across most majors; BCH and LINK negative.
- Options: BTC and ETH put skews strengthened after BTC failed to hold $90K. January $80K BTC puts most popular. Strangles and straddles make up 35% of block flows; ETH flows dominated by call spreads.
Token Launch Performance
Analysis of 118 2025 token launches by Memento Research shows:
- Only 15% trade above their TGE price.
- Median losses: 71% FDV, 66% market cap.
- Tokens with FDV ≥ $1B fell 81% on median; none remain profitable.
- FDV-weighted performance dropped 61.5%, versus 33.3% for equal-weighted baskets.
- Infrastructure, DeFi, and AI tokens underperformed; perpetual DEXs like Hyperliquid and Aster were exceptions.
