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. 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 fact that the recently launched NIGHT token is doing well, a sign of increased demand from investors.
The token was trading at $0.07 on Saturday, up by 96% from the lowest level on record, with its market 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 was happening on exchanges like 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 important 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 top developers in the network, like 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 make it a major player in the stablecoin industry by introducing tier-1 stablecoins like USDC and USDT in the network.
Additionally, Pentad aims to bring quality oracle networks to the ecosystem, a process that is becoming successful already, with the recent partnership with Pyth Network, one of the biggest players in the industry. The hope is that other top oracle networks like Chainlink and Band Protocol will move to the industry.
READ MORE: Pyth Network Plans Chainlink-Like Treasury Reserve Amid Token Slide
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 in 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, a move that will introduce faster speeds.
Additionally, there is a likelihood that there will be several ADA ETFs in 2026, which may lead to 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 is made up of two descending and converging trendlines, with a bullish breakout happening when the two near their confluence.
A rebound will likely push Cardano’s price to the psychological level at $0.50, followed by the next psychological level at $1.
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