Midnight

About Midnight

Midnight Network is a data protection-focused blockchain developed by Input Output Global (IOG), the same research and engineering company behind Cardano. Announced in November 2022 and officially launched with its genesis block on March 30, 2026, Midnight is described as a fourth-generation blockchain designed to address the challenges of data privacy and regulatory compliance in decentralized applications (dApps).

The project was initiated by Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson, who has been a central figure in its strategic direction and personally invested $200 million to support its development, deliberately avoiding venture capital to maintain independence. Hoskinson's vision for Midnight stems from the belief that a lack of robust privacy is a significant barrier to mainstream and institutional adoption of blockchain technology. The network is supported by the Midnight Foundation, a Cayman Islands company, and Midnight TGE Ltd., which exclusively govern the network and its native token.

Midnight's core technology utilizes zero-knowledge cryptography (specifically zk-SNARKs) to enable what it terms "rational privacy"—a framework for selective data disclosure. This allows developers and businesses to build applications that can verify information without exposing sensitive underlying data, balancing confidentiality with regulatory needs. The architecture features a hybrid dual-state ledger, combining a public UTXO-based ledger for transparency and an account-based private ledger for confidential data. For developers, Midnight offers a TypeScript-based smart contract language called Compact, which simplifies the creation of privacy-preserving applications without requiring deep cryptographic expertise.

The business model is designed for developers, institutions, and enterprises in regulated sectors like financial services and healthcare, where handling sensitive data on public ledgers is a major obstacle. By providing programmable privacy, Midnight enables use cases such as private DeFi, compliant KYC/KYB systems, and institutional dark pool trading. The network operates as a partner chain to Cardano, leveraging its security while adding a dedicated privacy layer, with the goal of functioning as an interoperable privacy infrastructure for applications across multiple chains.

The network employs a dual-token economic model. NIGHT is the public, unshielded native governance and utility token, which is used to secure the network and can be staked by validators. Holding NIGHT automatically generates DUST, a shielded, non-transferable resource token used to pay for transaction fees and execute smart contracts, ensuring the privacy of on-chain activities. This model separates the capital asset (NIGHT) from operational costs (DUST), aiming to provide predictable fees for users and developers. The NIGHT token was distributed through a large airdrop to promote wide ownership across several blockchain communities.