Cardano’s founder, Charles Hoskinson, announced the ecosystem’s privacy-centered sidechain airdrop, Midnight, could reach 37 million users, including XRP holders. This announcement, unveiled during his keynote speech for Paris Blockchain Week 2025 on the second day, has caught massive attention.
Cardano Founder Explains Midnight Airdrop Dynamics
He explained Midnight’s mission and its strategy to drive cross-chain engagement through the forthcoming “Glacier Drop.” It refers to a multi-token airdrop aimed at promoting adoption and privacy within decentralized networks, as highlighted in our previous report. Moreover, Hoskinson pointed out that the airdrop will be spread among 37 million people across various blockchains. This includes users of Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Cardano (ADA), Ripple’s XRP, Solana (SOL), Avalanche (AVAX), Polygon (POL) and Binance Smart Chain. In addition, XRP’s inclusion also highlights the “bromance” between the Ripple and Cardano ecosystems. It is developing Midnight, the sidechain focused on creating secure, private and compliant data interactions powered by cryptographic technology. The airdrop will give out two tokens, NIGHT, the core governance token of the ecosystem, and DUST, a privacy-enabling utility token used in shielded transactions. Furthermore, he hailed the airdrop as part of the project’s expansion. For further context, NIGHT is transferable and it is linked to the stake in governance. On the other hand, DUST is not transferable and works inside the privacy layer of the network.
Hoskinson Sheds Light On Next Steps
A larger effort to seize hold of the ‘fourth generation’ of blockchain innovation has led to the distribution effort that comprises part of it. For context, Bitcoin set the foundation for the first wave, which was all about decentralization. There were programmable contracts with Ethereum, then an emphasis on interoperability and scalability. Hence, Cardano’s next phase is entering when privacy is not a feature, it’s a necessity. Hoskinson says this next stage will be driven by networks’ capacity to keep user confidentiality on the but in compliance. This chain abstraction is one that Midnight aims to accomplish with the given concept. The design allows users to talk with the Midnight protocol using their own assets without having to convert them. No matter whether one has BTC, ADA, ETH or XRP, they will be able to interact with Midnight. It also mentioned the more widespread cooperation between the Cardano and XRP communities, as noted earlier. And this synergy, which just became more apparent, means XRP’s eligibility for the airdrop. Moreover, in a recent promotional clip for tokenization, Ripple even featured the Cardano logo. This signals a shift toward mutual cooperation between the two networks. On the other hand, the development of Midnight continues to accelerate. A recent upgrade to the team’s testnet was unveiled. They outlined the improvements included for better user experience. “More efficient nodes, simpler setup, a faster proving system, and more,” they shared via X. New resources, such as the release overview page and the compatibility matrix, are also introduced on the platform to help builders. On this sentiment, Midnight has also gotten a partnership with OpenZeppelin to develop a DeFi infrastructure centered around privacy and security.