Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson announced Monday that Midnight — a privacy-focused blockchain built for the Cardano ecosystem — is now live on mainnet.
In a March 30 livestream, Hoskinson said the network has already been running in production-like conditions: average block times are roughly six seconds, the chain has produced more than 163,000 blocks, and the finality gap sits at about two blocks. Midnight itself confirmed the launch on X, saying the genesis block was produced and that developers, partners and institutions can begin deploying applications and migrating assets onto the network.
The rollout follows the project’s roadmap: Midnight had targeted a late-March 2026 mainnet in February, and comes after the December 2025 issuance of NIGHT, the network’s native token on Cardano. Hoskinson characterized the debut as a controlled, production-ready launch rather than an immediate shift to full decentralization — calling this a “guarded era.” The network is currently federated, with node operators running core infrastructure under explicit participation rules while the team focuses on hardening the system. A post-launch bug queue already lists more than 130 items; Hoskinson said none are showstoppers and that the team expects to spend the next two to three weeks addressing fixes as partners begin building on the live chain.
That phased approach mirrors Midnight’s official plan: stabilize operations and security during an initial application deployment period, then move toward greater decentralization over time. The project highlighted a roster of institutional federated node partners that underscores its enterprise focus, including Worldpay, Bullish, MoneyGram, Pairpoint by Vodafone, eToro, AlphaTON Capital, Google Cloud, Blockdaemon and Shielded Technologies. Midnight’s pitch: a public blockchain that preserves privacy so enterprises can run live applications without exposing sensitive on‑chain data.
Technically, Midnight emphasizes programmable privacy. The network uses a hybrid ledger that mixes public and private data, with client-side generation of zero-knowledge proofs so sensitive information remains on users’ devices. It supports shielded and unshielded assets and enables selective disclosure — letting counterparties, auditors or regulators view specific records when application logic requires it, without revealing blanket transaction histories.
Midnight’s economic model also departs from traditional gas-token designs. The chain uses two native tokens: NIGHT, an unshielded governance and utility token, and DUST, a renewable transaction resource consumed by applications. DUST regenerates over time based on NIGHT holdings, reaching a full recharge in seven days — a mechanism designed to make transaction costs more predictable for businesses and to let developers subsidize end-user usage.
Alongside the launch, Hoskinson rolled out an educational push: he published a free book called Proving Nothing: A Complete Guide to Zero-Knowledge Proof Systems, targeting non-technical readers who want a comprehensive overview of ZK systems. On the product front, Hoskinson said Cardano’s Lace wallet will receive midnight-supporting updates: version 136.2 has been submitted for browser extension store approval, and Lace v2 plus a mobile release are expected in April.
At press time, Cardano (ADA) was trading at $0.24.
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