Crypto Markets Experience Mixed Activity Heading into the New Year

The cryptocurrency market has experienced a mix of gains and losses in the first days of the new year, with some tokens experiencing significant price movements. According to data from CoinGecko, the global cryptocurrency market capitalization rose to $3.15 trillion, up 2.8% over the past 24 hours. Memecoins such as PEPE and DOGE led the charge, with PEPE posting the strongest gains among the top-100 tokens on Friday, Jan. 2. The token jumped more than 38% over the past 24 hours on nearly $1.8 billion in trading volume, sharply outperforming the broader crypto market, which is up about 3% today. Shiba Inu (SHIB) rose about 15%, while Dogecoin (DOGE) climbed 12%, making it the only token among the top-10 by market capitalization to post double-digit gains. "This early-year rotation into large cap memes may suggest traders are positioning for upside after months of consolidation and memes have been some of the hardest hit post the [Oct. 10, 2025] liquidation in terms of downside volatility," Jake Kennis, senior research analyst at Nansen told The Defiant. "Markets may have been extremely bearish on memes based on price action and the risk appetite not being there." However, not all tokens experienced gains. Zcash (ZEC) was among the weakest performers, slipping about 6.6%, while Filecoin (FIL) fell roughly 3.4%. Canton (CC) posted losses of about 3% on the day. In 2025, Zcash emerged as the top large-cap gainer as privacy coins saw a resurgence. Zcash's rally comes as privacy-related tokens are drawing attention again after years of lagging the broader market. As rules tighten on centralized platforms, some users are turning back to crypto tools that offer more control over how their financial activity is shared. "Zcash performed very well in 2025, driven by a powerful revival of the privacy narrative as investors increasingly valued onchain privacy tools," Kennis told The Defiant. "With rising shielded transaction usage and a strong narrative amidst a strong need for privacy, Zcash is well-positioned as a leader in the privacy sector." Meanwhile, some users reported withdrawal issues on the Lighter decentralized exchange. The platform's native token, LIT, went live late eastern time, catching many traders off guard. According to reports from Wu Blockchain, as well as traders on X, the Ethereum Layer 2 DEX appears to have stopped processing withdrawals normally as of this morning. Some analysts said the delay may have been caused by Lighter's system falling behind while handling increased withdrawal requests, with users reportedly receiving an error message "Too many L2 Withdrawals." In other news, Polymarket and Parcl launched real estate prediction markets, allowing users to bet on US home prices. The partnership will introduce housing-focused markets that settle against Parcl's published price indices, giving traders and analysts an objective, data-driven reference point for forecasting where home prices are headed. Additionally, on-chain data confirmed that Wintermute deposited $107 million in Bitcoin to Binance on New Year's Eve, but debunked claims the market maker urgently accumulated coins days later. ZachXBT reported an EVM hack affecting hundreds of wallets, with a total of roughly $100,000 drained across hundreds of wallets in a yet-to-be resolved exploit. Lastly, NIGHT, the native token of the Midnight blockchain, surged after Charles Hoskinson suggested it could help expand decentralized finance (DeFi) across blockchain ecosystems, including XRP. The token rose more than 11% over the past 24 hours, according to CoinGecko. Sources: - Polymarket and Parcl Launch Real Estate Prediction Markets - Major market maker secretly offloaded 1,213 BTC onto Binance during New Year’s Eve thin liquidity - ZachXBT Reports EVM Hack Affecting Hundreds of Wallets - Crypto Markets Move Higher After Holidays, Memecoins Outperform - Memecoins Lead Crypto Rally as PEPE Surges Over 30% - Zcash Emerges as Top-Performing Large-Cap Crypto of the Year - Crypto Markets Trade Mostly Flat as Year-End Activity Remains Light - ZORA Drops as Creator Coins Disappoint Yet Again - Lighter Users Report Withdrawal Issues After Perp DEX Launches LIT Token - NIGHT Jumps After Charles Hoskinson Backs XRP DeFi Integration