Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson said ADA holders don’t have to sell ADA to purchase Midnight’s NIGHT token. He explained the purpose during a December 2025 appearance on the Discover Crypto podcast. “They complement one another. They do various things,” Hoskinson said, dismissing claims that NIGHT could replace ADA.
Midnight Network launches NIGHT on Cardano Rails “ChatGPT of Privacy” but no competing token
Source: YouTube
Midnight Network launches NIGHT on Cardano Rails
Midnight Network positions itself as a privacy-focused smart contract blockchain. The documentation states that the network uses zero-knowledge proofs (ZK proofs) to assist developers construct confidential decentralized applications, or dApps. According to Midnight's official redemption guide, the NIGHT token was launched as a Cardano native asset in early December 2025.
Midnight's Glacier Drop distribution minted the complete NIGHT supply of 24 billion for allocation. Cardano wallets received 50% of the full supply. Bitcoin wallets received 20%. Ethereum, Solana, XRP Ledger, BNB Chain, Avalanche, Brave Wallet assets and one other qualified ecosystem share the remaining 30%. The project took the Glacier Drop snapshot on June 11, 2025. Phase 1 claims were opened from August 5 to October 20, 2025. Hoskinson described the allocation as evidence that Midnight was prioritizing ADA holders first.
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“ChatGPT of privacy” but not a competing token
Hoskinson compared Midnight to “the ChatGPT of knowledge protection” to clarify its infrastructure role, not to say product equivalence. “Midnight is the ChatGPT of privacy. That's what it does. It's a blockchain-to-blockchain infrastructure module,” he said. He explained that Midnight offers Cardano apps optional privacy features, while ADA continues to secure Cardano staking, governance and consensus.
Midnight's random unfreeze schedule shows that 4.5 billion NIGHT tokens have been claimed by greater than 170,000 wallets, representing 19% of the full supply. Claimed tokens can be unlocked in equal quarterly releases over 360 days. The Midnight team said the random thaw prevents the identical supply from unlocking on Cardano and Midnight at the identical time.
Hoskinson took the chance to embed Midnight’s value proposition into broader blockchain liquidity trends. He emphasized that Midnight's privacy tools are intended as infrastructure for developers, not as a claim to liquidity or value classification over other blockchains.
Further reading: Cardano (ADA) founder Charles Hoskinson blatantly promotes Midnight Airdrop – why?
He also addressed the thesis that liquidity – particularly from Bitcoin (BTC) markets – tends to flow into yield opportunity networks, credit markets and real-world utilities, suggesting that compatible architectures can influence cross-chain participation without requiring holders to sell underlying assets. Hoskinson cited Cardano's unspent transaction output (UTXO) transaction model – the identical type utilized by Bitcoin – as an element that would reduce technical friction in cross-chain interactions.
