ADA Declines 3% as Crypto Sell-Off Deepens, Volatility Spikes on Midnight Airdrop

Cardano Slips Below Key Support as NIGHT Airdrop Triggers Volatility Amid Market Weakness

Cardano’s ADA token fell nearly 3% over the past 24 hours, pressured by broader crypto market weakness and post-airdrop distribution activity tied to Midnight’s NIGHT token. ADA was recently trading near $0.72, struggling to hold the $0.740 support level.

The session saw notable volatility, with ADA swinging 3.47% between a high of $0.760 and a low of $0.734. After climbing from $0.745 to $0.760 on strong volume, the token reversed sharply, dropping to $0.735 before bouncing back to $0.755. However, further selling capped upside momentum, and ADA eventually settled at $0.739.

Market-wide sentiment remained weak, with the CoinDesk 20 Index down 1.7% and bitcoin (BTC) showing similar losses. ADA underperformed slightly, reflecting investor caution following the NIGHT airdrop.

The airdrop, dubbed the Glacier Drop, came from Midnight — a Cardano-linked privacy-focused blockchain — and distributed 2.62 billion NIGHT tokens to XRP-linked wallets, roughly 11% of total supply. Additional allocations are set for ETH, SOL, BNB, AVAX, and BAT holders.

Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson noted growing institutional interest in Midnight, calling privacy-enabled infrastructure a key draw for traditional finance players. “We’ve met with all the big guys,” he said, referring to ongoing discussions with major firms.

Separately, Cardano’s core developer Input Output Global (IOG) secured approval for a $71 million treasury proposal to fund one year of ecosystem development. The vote passed on-chain but drew scrutiny from community members concerned about transparency and oversight.