Author
David Pokima
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Altcoin sentiment remains sour, but Midnight (NIGHT), Hyperliquid (HYPE), and Monero (XMR) are showing signs of accumulation and catalyst-driven strength. This offers a rare pocket of risk in a weak market heading into early February 2026.
Our analysis pointed to three tokens as candidates for new highs, with roadmap progress and improving money flow signals as key drivers. While the broader market is showing extreme fear, capital is rotating toward projects with clear development milestones or long-lasting narratives such as privacy and decentralized commerce.
Technical breakdowns for NIGHT, HYPE and XMR
Midnight ($0.047, -4.3%) is advancing its roadmap for the first quarter of 2026, focused on the ‘KÅ«kolu’ phase. This stage offers a stable mainnet with trusted validators and privacy-first applications, according to a January update.
Technical indicators such as the Chaikin Money Flow (CMF) are rising, indicating that money outflows are reducing. A key level to recover from is $0.053, with a possible move back towards its previous all-time high near $0.120.
For its part, Hyperliquid’s CMF has moved above zero, suggesting that capital inflows now dominate. HYPE price at $33.74 also shows a -0.22 correlation with Bitcoin, implying more independent price action. Open interest in the decentralized perpetual securities market rose to $793 million around January 26 and 27, up from $260 million the previous month. This reflects the growing demand for its derivatives market structure.
Monero is trading near $305 after a sharp 30% correction for 11 days. Its money flow index (MFI) suggests that selling pressure is about to run out. Monero, a privacy coin launched in 2014, maintains a long-standing narrative focused on fungibility and censorship resistance.
A flight towards quality in the midst of market dispersion
While overall altcoin indices are weak, dispersion is the key issue. The outperformance of these three tokens is not random. It is a flight towards quality within specific narratives. Midnight represents progress in privacy-enhancing L1s. Hyperliquid reflects the growing market share of high-yield decentralized derivatives platforms.
Monero’s resilience indicates persistent, non-speculative demand for private transactions. For a desk trader, these are not degenerate altcoin plays. They are bets aimed at mature crypto subsectors that are showing independent strength in a risk-averse macroeconomic context.
