Crypto Markets Today: NIGHT Crashes as Year-End Volatility Hits
Crypto Markets Today will be on hiatus starting Wednesday, returning Jan. 5 with regular updates. Wishing everyone a happy holiday season.
Crypto markets are in risk-off mode. Cardano-based Midnight Network’s NIGHT token plunged 22% in 24 hours, the worst performer among the top 100 by market cap. Other losers include PUMP (-13%) and MNT, XMR, and ZEC (down up to 8%).
Bitcoin (BTC $87,363.32) slipped below $88,000 after failing to sustain gains above $90,000 on Monday. Market volatility could rise following the U.S. third-quarter GDP release, expected to show continued economic strength.
Derivatives Update
- BTC futures: Global open interest steady at ~670,000 BTC, down slightly in the past 24 hours, indicating muted leveraged activity.
- SOL futures: OI rose to 58.75M SOL, the 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; $80K BTC puts for January expiry are most popular. Strangles and straddles make up 35% of block flows; ETH flows favor call spreads.
Token Launch Performance
Analysis of 118 2025 token launches (Memento Research) shows:
- Only 15% are above TGE price.
- Median losses: 71% FDV, 66% market cap.
- Tokens with FDV ≥ $1B saw a median 81% drop; none are profitable.
- FDV-weighted performance fell 61.5%, versus 33.3% for equal-weighted baskets.
- Infrastructure, DeFi, and AI tokens underperformed; perpetual DEXs like Hyperliquid and Aster were exceptions.
