PANAMA CITY, Dec. 31, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — HTX, the leading cryptocurrency exchange, recently released its recap of hot listings during the week of December 22 to 28, indicating that multiple newly listed and actively traded assets delivered outsized gains. As 2025 draws to a close, sentiment across the crypto market continues to recover, with trading activity picking up alongside seasonal year-end momentum. A combination of macro tailwinds and renewed narrative catalysts has driven broad-based sector strength, as AI, privacy, and memecoin assets simultaneously rebound. Capital flows are increasingly gravitating toward high-growth narratives and thematically distinct opportunities.
AI Narrative Returns to Center Stage as PAYAI and SQD Lead the Rally
Artificial intelligence remains one of the defining long-term narratives of the 2025 crypto cycle, with accelerating real-world adoption driving a revaluation of application assets. One of the key catalysts behind this week’s AI-sector rebound was the official release of Version 2 of x402, an open-source payment protocol for AI agents developed by the Coinbase developer team. The upgraded x402 protocol introduces native multi-chain support, covering token payment on ecosystems such as Base and Solana. It also enables seamless integration with traditional payment rails including the Automated Clearing House (ACH) and bank card networks. This significantly enhances the commercial scalability of AI services.
Following the release, assets across the x402 ecosystem saw significant gains. This validates a broader mid-cycle thesis for 2025: AI business models are transitioning from conceptual experimentation toward scalable, revenue-oriented deployment. HTX’s early support for core AI-linked assets provided users with timely access to this narrative-driven market opportunity.
- PAYAI (PayAI Network): +103%, emerging as one of the strongest performers within the x402 AI ecosystem.
- SQD (Subsquid): +114%, reflecting renewed interest in AI-focused compute infrastructure.
Privacy Protocols Regain Attention as ZBT and ZEC Advance in Tandem
On-chain privacy is increasingly viewed as a foundational infrastructure for the next market cycle. Against a backdrop of regulatory recalibration and industry restructuring, the privacy sector has seen renewed inflows, forming a “new-and-legacy resonance” dynamic across assets. HTX’s diversified asset coverage has allowed users to participate across multiple layers of this narrative.
- ZBT (Zerobase): +127%, ranking as the best performer overall.
- ZEC (Zcash): +22%. Zcash is a decentralized, open-source project.
Memecoins Gain Momentum Across Multiple Ecosystems
As the year-end approaches, seasonal memecoin trading activity has begun to resurface. Assets characterized by lightweight narratives and strong liquidity once again demonstrated their volatility-driven appeal. On HTX, several memecoins recorded notable gains, supported by efficient execution and deep liquidity that enabled users to capture short-term opportunities.
- DONKEY: +21%, a BSC-based memecoin with robust community engagement.
- MYRO (Myro): +29%, a Solana-based memecoin.
- HIPPO (sudeng): +33%, a memecoin within the SUI ecosystem.
Multi-Sector Recovery Including DeFi and Layer 1 Ecosystems
Beyond headline narratives, a broader rally across DeFi and Layer 1 assets suggests improving incremental capital inflows and the potential continuation of a year-end market trend.
- 0G (Zero Gravity): +38%, positioned at the intersection of DeFi and AI.
- SPK (Spark): +17%, supported by renewed capital inflows and improving protocol expectations.
- XPL (Plasma): + 25%, a Layer 1 payment infrastructure project.
Seize Early-Stage Opportunities as HTX Captures Emerging Wealth Effects
As market conditions stabilize, sector differentiation remains pronounced. Selecting the right trading venue, featuring forward-looking asset reserves and deep liquidity, has become increasingly critical for users seeking opportunities in the new market cycle. Across this week’s top-performing assets, HTX had already enabled trading access at their early stages, allowing users to grasp more entry points.
Through disciplined listing strategies and a robust trading ecosystem, HTX continues to enhance users’ ability to capture opportunities efficiently amid complex market dynamics. Looking ahead, HTX will continue to evolve its platform strategy in line with market trends, user demand, and cycle-driven shifts, expanding high-quality asset coverage and deepening liquidity. More market insights and emerging opportunities are available on HTX.
About HTX
Founded in 2013, HTX (formerly Huobi) has evolved from a virtual asset exchange into a comprehensive ecosystem of blockchain businesses that span digital asset trading, financial derivatives, research, investments, incubation, and other businesses.
As a world-leading gateway to Web3, HTX harbors global capabilities that enable it to provide users with safe and reliable services. Adhering to the growth strategy of “Global Expansion, Thriving Ecosystem, Wealth Effect, Security & Compliance,” HTX is dedicated to providing quality services and values to virtual asset enthusiasts worldwide.
To learn more about HTX, please visit https://www.htx.com/ or HTX Square, and follow HTX on X, Telegram, and Discord.
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