Market Report: Top 5 cryptocurrencies by decline on January 1, 2026, with Midnight experiencing the largest drop

Gate.io News Bot Message, January 1, 2026, according to CoinMarketCap market data, the crypto market continued its correction trend at year-end. Liquidity dried up further, and profit-taking pressures persisted, causing most mainstream coins to decline. The following are the top five cryptocurrencies by decline over the past 24 hours:

1️⃣ NIGHT (Midnight) 📉 Current Price: $0.86 | Decline: -10.26% 📊 24H High/Low: $0.95 / $0.85 | Market Cap: $143 million ⚠️ Although Cardano founder is strongly promoting Midnight’s strategic vision of integrating XRP DeFi, Ripple CTO also publicly acknowledged this privacy sidechain project, market still has doubts about long-term implementation. Recently, Gate Launchpool’s large airdrop released liquidity pressure, some profit-takers chose to cash out, leading to short-term correction. Year-end liquidity shortage further amplified the decline.

2️⃣ INJ (Injective) 📉 Current Price: $4.20 | Decline: -6.29% 📊 24H High/Low: $4.49 / $4.18 | Market Cap: $420 million ⚠️ Although within the ecosystem, HodlHer completed $1.5 million funding, and the prospects of AI agent Web3 operating system gained recognition, investor risk appetite declined, and market liquidity dried up, causing Injective to follow the broader market adjustment. The quiet trading environment at year-end increased downward pressure.

3️⃣ ADA (Cardano) 📉 Current Price: $0.33 | Decline: -5.59% 📊 24H High/Low: $0.35 / $0.33 | Market Cap: $11.955 billion ⚠️ Despite technical signals showing bullish divergence and daily RSI forming higher lows, the decline was driven by liquidity drying up at year-end, profit-taking pressure, and regulatory uncertainties. Cardano founder’s comments on Solana’s development speed also indirectly reflect market concerns about ADA’s competitiveness.

4️⃣ LIT (Lighter) 📉 Current Price: $2.49 | Decline: -5.33% 📊 24H High/Low: $2.81 / $2.32 | Market Cap: $623 million ⚠️ LIT just completed its tenth largest historical airdrop on December 30 (worth $675 million). The new token faced typical “listing and immediate sell-off” pattern. Many early airdrop profit-takers cashed out, large holders like Jump Crypto gradually offloaded, and holiday effects led to insufficient market absorption, making it difficult to digest selling pressure.

5️⃣ PIPPIN (pippin) 📉 Current Price: $0.39 | Decline: -5.19% 📊 24H High/Low: $0.41 / $0.36 | Market Cap: $392 million ⚠️ As a new token issued in 2025, PIPPIN is heavily affected by systemic risks in the altcoin sector. Market data shows 84.73% of altcoins are trading below their TGE issuance price, with capital continuing to flow out. Although PIPPIN experienced a short-term rise due to short squeeze, year-end liquidity contraction broke the fragile balance. High concentration of holdings (93 wallets control 80% of supply) further amplifies volatility risk.

📉 Market Summary The overall crypto market is currently in a year-end correction phase, with liquidity significantly dried up and risk appetite continuously declining. Mainstream coins like Bitcoin and Ethereum also declined in tandem, dragging the total market cap down by approximately 2.66%. Light trading activity, holiday effects, profit-taking pressures, and derivatives liquidation risks all contributed to increased market volatility. Newly launched projects (LIT, PIPPIN) performed worse due to airdrop sell-offs and concentrated holdings, while traditional strong coins (ADA, INJ, NIGHT) have fundamental support but also face difficulties. Investors should be cautious of year-end liquidity risks, control positions prudently, and avoid slippage losses in low-liquidity environments.

⚠️ Risk Warning: This market update is based on real-time data reflecting market adjustments and is for informational purposes only. It does not constitute any investment advice. The cryptocurrency market is highly volatile; year-end liquidity shortages may lead to significant price swings and slippage risks. Investors should fully understand market risks, make cautious decisions, act within their means, and avoid blindly chasing gains or selling in panic. This message is not investment advice; investors should be aware of market volatility risks.