BTC $85,605 
ETH $2,709 
USDT $0.9999 
BNB $775.10 
XRP $1.51 
USDC $0.9999 
SOL $120.49 
TRX $0.3351 
FIGR_HELOC $1.01 
ZEC $1,370 NIGHT token jumps 159% to $0.048 after Midnight mainnet upgrade
Midnight's NIGHT token reached a six-month high as permissionless smart contract deployment went live on mainnet.
Key takeaways
- Six-month high. NIGHT reached $0.048, up roughly 159% in late September and early October 2026.
- Still far below peak. The token is about 97% below its $1.81 all-time high and shed 87% from that peak.
- Upgrade is live. Permissionless smart contract deployment went live on Midnight's mainnet on October 2, 2026.
What happened
The NIGHT token climbed roughly 159% to $0.048 in late September and early October 2026, a six-month high for the Cardano-linked privacy project Midnight. The move followed a summer decline that began with a bridge exploit.
On October 2, 2026, permissionless smart contract deployment went live on Midnight's mainnet. The change lets developers deploy contracts freely and build them through code.
Charles Hoskinson wrote on X on September 28 that Midnight will be bigger than Zcash, pointing to selective disclosure, private agents, a DeFi kernel and the combination of ZK, TEE and MPC.
Why it matters
The mainnet upgrade removes a barrier for developers and could draw more applications to the network. NIGHT is used for network fees and security, so rising activity could lift demand for the token.
Midnight uses zero-knowledge proofs to keep private information protected inside smart contracts. That gives it potential use cases in finance and identity, where privacy and compliance both matter.
Hoskinson's comparison with Zcash is a multi-year thesis rather than a near-term valuation call. Zcash trades in the mid-$20 billions, while NIGHT's market cap sits roughly between $670 million and $740 million.
What the data shows
Traders are watching resistance near $0.038, $0.040 and downside support around $0.022, $0.028. Coinpedia reported that NIGHT is testing the $0.0485 area, with a hold above $0.044 potentially opening a retest of $0.048.
The token shed 87% from its all-time peak and remains about 97% below it. NIGHT bottomed near $0.016 on July 20, 2026, after the December 2025 launch had sent it as high as $1.81.
NIGHT gained 7.34% as the upgrade strengthened network utility and developer activity. The token also diverged from ADA: in late September, ADA was down while NIGHT was already logging 20% gains.
Background
A signature-reuse flaw let attackers take about 515 million NIGHT from the Wanchain-operated Cardano, BNB Chain bridge. The tokens were worth roughly $13 million at the time.
Midnight Foundation CTO Sebastien Guillemot has outlined a v8 release aimed at private smart contracts and private custom tokens. A v9 composability upgrade covering contract-to-contract calls and account abstraction is eyed for Q4 2026.
Google Cloud is a validator partner for the project, and secondary coverage also names Worldpay, Bullish, MoneyGram and eToro.
Questions readers ask
What caused the NIGHT token price to surge?
Midnight's mainnet upgrade on October 2, 2026 let developers deploy permissionless smart contracts, and Charles Hoskinson's comments about Zcash drew attention. NIGHT rose roughly 159% to $0.048.
How far is NIGHT below its all-time high?
The token is about 97% below its peak. It shed 87% from the $1.81 level reached after its December 2025 launch.
What happened in the July bridge exploit?
Attackers drained roughly 515 million NIGHT, worth about $13 million at the time, from the Wanchain-operated Cardano, BNB Chain bridge via a signature-reuse flaw. NIGHT bottomed near $0.016 on July 20, 2026.
What price levels are traders watching?
CoinGape pointed to resistance near $0.038, $0.040 and support around $0.022, $0.028. Coinpedia reported NIGHT testing $0.0485, with $0.044 as a level to hold.
