Top Crypto Gainers Today, January 1 – Canton, Story, UNUS SED LEO

Highlights:

• Canton, Story, and UNUS SED LEO lead the top crypto gainers today despite a red start to the market.
• Story’s comeback after the Unleash exploit cleanup sparked major buying, with momentum pushing past key chart levels.
• LEO is pressing toward $10 after breaking out of consolidation, signaling strong hands still holding firm.

The crypto market has kicked off the year on a bearish note, with most of the asset prices trading in red. The global market capitalization and the trading volume have declined to $2.97 trillion and $81 billion, respectively. Despite the broad downturn, several assets have shown resilience and recorded robust gains. In the section below, we will discuss the top crypto gainers today, such as Canton, Story, and UNUS SED LEO.

Top Crypto Gainers Today

1. Canton (CC)

Privacy-based Canton has been making headlines recently with a surge of 130% over the past 30 days. Today, Canton has emerged as the top crypto gainer with an 18% surge over the last 24 hours. As of this writing, CC is trading around $0.173, with a market capitalization of $6.22 billion.

The interest among institutions has been increasing, with Bitwise recently filing eleven single-crypto ETFs on December 31. A single ETF incorporates 60% direct CC token exposure, which is a notable structural shift. The recently approved SOL and XRP ETFs have amassed more than $1 billion despite little price appreciation in those altcoins.

On December 30, Bitwise submitted applications to the U.S. SEC for 11 cryptocurrency ETFs, including the Bitwise AAVE Strategy ETF, Bitwise UNI Strategy ETF, Bitwise ZEC Strategy ETF, Bitwise CC Strategy ETF, Bitwise ENA Strategy ETF, Bitwise Hyperliquid Strategy ETF, Bitwise…

— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) December 31, 2025

Investors are now looking forward to likely 2026 approvals, as was previously observed with Bitcoin ETFs before they achieved momentum. The interest is expected to increase when the SEC comments on filings, which will probably occur in Q1 2026.

2. Story (IP)

After forming a descending channel on the monthly chart, Story has reversed this pattern with a surge of 25% and 13% on the weekly and daily charts. The price is currently hovering around $1.85. Its trading volume has exploded by 180% to $83 million.

Story rallied after the containment of the $3.9M Unleash Protocol exploit. The Layer 1 was not impacted, and this helped to build trust in the architecture of the project. Continued auditing also contributed to the recovery as traders got back to the asset.

🚨 STORY ( $IP ) +8%, BULLISH POST-HACK SURGE

Story ( $IP ) jumped 8.08%, outperforming the market after the $3.9M Unleash Protocol exploit stabilized.

Post-Hack Relief

Core Layer 1 unaffected >> security validated

Traders rally; audits ongoing

Technical Boost

Pivot… pic.twitter.com/hPfuhZGmBv

— Bitcoin Daily (@BTC_DailyAlpha) January 1, 2026

The altcoin also overcame technical levels by breaking the $1.56 pivot and the 50-day SMA at 1.52. Momentum indicators reflect strength, with the MACD at 0.054, while the RSI remains at 37. A close above $1.67 could open room for a squeeze toward $2.12.

3. UNUS SED LEO (LEO)

UNUS SED LEO is inching its long-term resistance around $10 as the bullish momentum builds. The altcoin has emerged as the third top crypto gainer today after recording a gain of 6.30% on the daily chart. Currently, the price is exchanging hands around $9.65 with a market cap of $8.89 billion.

This latest rally saw LEO surge above the resistance around $8.8. This move comes after a period of consolidation that began around December 31. The price is robust above the 7-day simple moving average, which is at the moment at $8.75.

The RSI is 73.69, which reflects overbought conditions, which could result in short-term pullbacks. However, momentum remains intact as long as the price remains above $9.00. A continued push may retest the $9.86 swing high, provided bullish momentum is sustained through near-term volatility.