Midnight NIGHT Token Surges 86% as Smart Contract Launch Nears

NIGHT, the native cryptocurrency of Cardano-linked privacy blockchain Midnight, has extended its strong rally to eight consecutive days, climbing 86% over the past week as investors turn their attention to privacy-focused crypto projects.

The NIGHT token began its latest advance on September 24 after hitting a low near $0.022. It has since recorded seven straight daily gains, with the current session on track to become the eighth. Momentum accelerated on Wednesday and Thursday, pushing NIGHT as high as $0.048.

At press time, Midnight was trading around $0.044, up 17.66% over the previous 24 hours. The rally stands out against weakness across the broader cryptocurrency market. Rival privacy coins Zcash and Monero fell 5.44% and 1.06%, respectively, during the same period, while Cardano’s ADA declined 3.23%.

NIGHT’s gains coincide with Midnight moving closer to enabling smart contracts on its mainnet. Midnight Foundation CTO Sebastien Guillemot recently provided updates on the project’s upcoming release and its planned composability upgrade.

On September 19, Guillemot indicated that smart contract deployment on the Midnight mainnet was approaching. The upgrade is expected to introduce private smart contracts, including functionality allowing developers to mint custom private tokens.

Midnight Node 1.0.3 was released on September 26, with Guillemot describing it as the final major technical release before smart contract deployment becomes available. Midnight’s v8 release will enable private contracts, while the subsequent v9 upgrade is expected to introduce composability.

Guillemot said the composability upgrade could arrive before the end of 2026. Developers will be able to use v8 to prepare applications ahead of v9, potentially accelerating ecosystem development once composability goes live.

A Midnight Node 1.0.4 update is also expected to reach mainnet shortly as the project prepares for the next stage of its roadmap.

Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has also expressed enthusiasm about Midnight’s development, comparing his work on Midnight and Midnight City with earlier periods of blockchain innovation while highlighting the additional experience and AI capabilities now available.