Cardano price has been in a strong freefall this year and is now sitting near its lowest level since November. This sell-off could be about to end as the NIGHT token gains momentum ahead of the Midnight mainnet launch. The ADA token was trading at $0.3740, down by ~72% from its highest level last year.
NIGHT Token Demand is Rising
One of the main catalysts for the Cardano price is the performance of the recently launched NIGHT token, which is doing well, a sign of increased investor demand.
The token was trading at $0.07 on Saturday, up 96% from its record low, with its market capitalization surging to $1.15 billion. Its 24-hour volume jumped by 55% to over $2.7 billion, making it one of the most traded tokens in the crypto industry.
Most of NIGHT’s trading took place on exchanges such as Bybit, Binance Alpha, and LBank. Its surge has coincided with the performance of other top players in the privacy sector, like Zcash and Monero.
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In its 2026 market outlook, Coinbase noted that privacy will be one of the top themes in the crypto industry during the year. Specifically, the report cited zero-knowledge (zk) proofs as one of the main technologies to watch next year, which is vital as Midnight is built on this technology. The report said:
“Technologies like zero-knowledge proofs and fully homomorphic encryption are becoming the cornerstones of the privacy evolution. ZKPs allow users to prove the validity of a transaction without revealing any underlying data.”
Therefore, there is a likelihood that Midnight will become a major player in the privacy industry and the most important part of Cardano’s ecosystem. The Midnight mainnet launch will happen in the first quarter of the year.
Pentad Proposal to Improve Cardano Network
Cardano has other potential catalysts, including the Pentad proposal, which will be implemented by some of the network’s top developers, such as Emurgo, Input Output, Midnight Foundation, and Cardano Foundation.
Pentad’s goal is to address the main issues that have derailed Cardano over time. For example, it aims to become a major player in the stablecoin industry by introducing tier-1 stablecoins such as USDC and USDT on the network.
Additionally, Pentad aims to bring high-quality oracle networks to the ecosystem, a process that is already gaining traction, with the recent partnership with Pyth Network, one of the industry’s most prominent players. The hope is that other top oracle networks, such as Chainlink and Band Protocol, will enter the industry.
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Cardano’s Pentad also aims to improve its analytics metrics. Like with the oracle aspect, this goal is having some success, with the network partnering with Dune Analytics. This deal means that data on Cardano’s network will become available on this platform.
Meanwhile, Cardano is working on Leios, a major upgrade that may debut in 2026. Leios is a major upgrade that will introduce parallel processing, resulting in faster speeds.
Additionally, there is a likelihood that several ADA ETFs will launch in 2026, which may drive more demand for the coin.
Cardano Price Technical Analysis
The daily timeframe chart shows that the ADA price has been in a strong freefall in the past few months and is now hovering near its lowest level this year.
Cardano has formed a falling wedge pattern, which is a common bullish reversal sign in technical analysis. This pattern consists of two descending, converging trendlines, with a bullish breakout occurring when the two near their confluence.
A rebound will likely push Cardano’s price to the psychological $0.50 level, followed by the next psychological level of $1.
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