Midnight (NIGHT) is a zero-knowledge layer 1 blockchain that runs as a partner chain of Cardano. It is designed to keep data private by default and disclose it selectively to auditors, regulators, or counterparties. Its public, transferable token is NIGHT, and CoinStats lists it at $0.04067 as of 02:13 UTC on 1 November 2026, up 2.48% over 24 hours, with a market capitalisation of $675.39M (rank #119) and 24-hour volume of $9.48M.
Core technology and blockchain architecture
Midnight was developed by Input Output Global (IOG) to support confidential smart contracts, with a design goal the project calls "rational privacy." Its ledger has two states: public state sits on-chain, while private state is held on the user's machine. Zero-knowledge proofs connect the two, so only the proof of valid execution is submitted to the network.
Smart contracts are written in Compact, a strongly typed language based on TypeScript. Each contract contains public ledger state, zero-knowledge circuits that prove the public state resulted from valid execution, and local off-chain functions. The privacy framework is named Kachina, and the node is built on the Substrate framework. The proving system moved to BLS12-381, and that transition was completed on 28 April 2025.
Primary use cases and real-world applications
Midnight targets applications that need confidentiality without losing auditability. The project points to private identity and credential verification, confidential financial products, enterprise workflows that require selective data sharing, and regulated uses where data stays hidden but proofs remain verifiable.
CoinDesk reported that Monument Bank announced a partnership with the Midnight Foundation in March 2026 to tokenize £250M in retail assets on-chain.
Who is behind Midnight and where is it based?
Midnight was conceived by Charles Hoskinson and developed within Input Output (IOG), the research and engineering company behind Cardano. Hoskinson is identified as CEO of Input Output. Professor Aggelos Kiayias is identified as chief scientist at Input | Output. The Block reports that Hoskinson said he invested $200 million of his own funds to subsidise Midnight's development.
Project history
- Midnight was unveiled at IO ScotFest in November 2022, after several years of research at Input Output.
- A sandbox devnet opened in October 2023, and a public testnet in October 2024.
- The Midnight Foundation launched on 13 May 2025, led by president Fahmi Syed.
- The genesis block was created on 17 March 2026, and the public mainnet launched on 30 March 2026.
Legal entities and jurisdictions
- Shielded Technologies is a spinout of Input Output and the core technology partner that develops the protocol. The UK registry lists Shielded Technologies (UK) Ltd, company number 16261928, incorporated 19 February 2025, with a registered office in London. Crunchbase also lists a Cayman-registered entity under a similar name, and the sources do not confirm whether it is the same company.
- Midnight Foundation is a Cayman Islands company, according to a notice published by the Lace wallet.
- Midnight TGE Ltd. is the issuer of NIGHT. It is a company limited by shares, incorporated in the British Virgin Islands on 12 December 2024, with the Midnight Foundation as its parent.
Lace states that the network and NIGHT are governed by Midnight TGE Ltd. and the Midnight Foundation, and that IOG is not an agent of Midnight and does not control the network. The sources do not establish a single operating country for the full technical team.
Tokenomics
Supply and distribution
Total supply is 24,000,000,000 NIGHT, and circulating supply is 16,607,399,401 NIGHT, or 69.2% of the total. The price is 65.69% below the all-time high of $0.1185.
Zelcore reports the following allocation:
| Allocation | Amount (NIGHT) | |
|---|---|---|
| Glacier Drop | 3,547,000,000 | |
| Scavenger Mine | 1,000,000,000 | |
| Lost-and-Found | 252,000,000 | |
| Midnight Foundation | 8,400,000,000 | |
| TGE | 3,660,000,000 | |
| Reserve | 6,000,000,000 | |
| Treasury | 1,141,000,000 |
Glacier Drop was a free claim open to holders of assets on supported networks, with claims running from 5 August to 4 October 2025. Scavenger Mine was a computational claim that ran from 29 October to 19 November 2025. Over 4.5 billion NIGHT were claimed across the two programmes. Lost-and-Found is a four-year late-claim window that opens after mainnet launch.
Sources differ on the vesting schedule. Midnight's NIGHT page lists a 450-day thawing period, while AKYO's timeline describes four equal 25% installments over 360 days.
Inflation, deflation and DUST
The sources describe a fixed maximum supply of 24 billion NIGHT, enforced at protocol level. A Reserve releases NIGHT over time, and once it is exhausted, circulating supply will match total supply. The sources do not describe a burn mechanism.
Holding NIGHT generates DUST, a shielded, non-transferable resource that pays transaction fees. Each 1 NIGHT generates a maximum capacity of 5 DUST, reached linearly over one week. When the backing NIGHT is spent, the associated DUST decays to zero.
Consensus mechanism and network security model
Midnight is a Cardano partner chain. Cardano stake pool operators (SPOs) can register as Midnight validators under the Minotaur design, which lets a partner chain be validated by native layer 1 validators.
At mainnet launch, the network ran a federated model in which named node operators included Google Cloud, Blockdaemon, Shielded Technologies, and AlphaTON, which runs a node for Telegram. Worldpay and Bullish later joined as federated operators. Google Cloud's Mandiant unit provides threat monitoring for the network.
The planned path to decentralisation has three stages. A staged migration from the current Aura consensus to BABE begins in Q4 2026, with SPOs earning NIGHT for block production. Mōhalu will onboard SPOs in an incentivised mainnet, and Hua will transfer block production to the community. CoinDCX reports that the Q3 2026 window closed on 30 September without an announcement that Mōhalu or Hua had shipped.
Key partnerships and ecosystem integrations
- Cardano: The Cardano Foundation provided coordination support during exchange readiness.
- Wallets: Dynamic added Midnight to its non-custodial wallet infrastructure, enabling embedded wallets through email or social login. Lace, 1AM, and Gero are also listed as wallets.
- Data and analytics: Token Terminal integrated an operational data pipeline with the Midnight Foundation, and Dune has published a Midnight data catalogue.
- Other partners: COTI and the Midnight Foundation announced a partnership on privacy standards in June 2026. The ecosystem page also lists OpenZeppelin, Turnkey, Maestro, and TRM Labs.
Competitive advantages and unique value proposition
Midnight separates the token that represents capital from the resource that pays fees. NIGHT carries governance and staking roles, while DUST covers transaction costs, which the project says makes costs more predictable. Compact lets developers manage private and public state within one contract, and local execution keeps sensitive data on the user's device. Midnight also uses Cardano's partner-chain framework while running its own consensus and application layer.
Current development activity and roadmap highlights
Permissionless smart contract deployment went live on mainnet as of 2 October 2026, removing the mandatory Preprod security review for developers. Midnight Explorer reported 1,019,963 cumulative transactions in late October 2026. Midnight City V2 launched in July 2026 with an overhauled digital world.
NIGHT has been listed on Bitget (9 April 2026), S.BLOX, which is operated by a Sony Group company (24 August 2026), and OKCoinJapan (13 October 2026). The current roadmap lists the BABE consensus migration and SPO block rewards for Q4 2026.