Cardano Distributes 12 Billion NIGHT Tokens in Midnight Glacier Airdrop

Cardano has recently announced the details of its Midnight Glacier Airdrop, a significant initiative aimed at enhancing privacy and decentralization within its ecosystem. The airdrop will distribute 12 billion NIGHT tokens to eligible holders of ADA and other major cryptocurrencies. This move is part of a broader strategy to foster the growth of privacy-focused projects on the blockchain, with the Midnight Network serving as the cornerstone of this effort.

The eligibility criteria for the airdrop are straightforward. Users must have held at least $100 worth of ADA in their Cardano wallet at the time of the snapshot, which was taken on June 11, 2025. The snapshot has been finalized, and eligible users can begin claiming their tokens starting in July 2025. This criterion ensures that a broad spectrum of Cardano holders will be involved, thereby promoting the adoption of the Midnight Network.

The distribution of the NIGHT tokens will occur in multiple phases. The first phase, known as the Claim Phase, will last for 60 days, during which eligible users can claim their full NIGHT token allocation. These tokens will be locked in a smart contract and will unlock in 25% increments over 360 days. Following this, the Scavenger Mine phase will last for 30 days, during which unclaimed tokens will be redistributed to users who contribute computational power to the Midnight Network, utilizing a mechanism resembling proof-of-work mining. Finally, the Lost-and-Found Phase will span 4 years, allowing users who miss the initial claiming window to recover a portion of their tokens through self-verification.

Claiming the NIGHT tokens is a straightforward process. Users need to sign in with their Cardano wallet and provide a valid Cardano address. The process is gas-free and does not require Know Your Customer (KYC) verification. As long as users held at least $100 worth of ADA during the snapshot, they are eligible for the airdrop. It is crucial to complete the claiming process before the claiming phase ends to ensure receipt of the tokens.

The Midnight Glacier Airdrop represents a significant step toward achieving greater privacy and decentralization within the Cardano network. By distributing tokens widely, the Midnight Network encourages more users to participate in the ecosystem. This initiative underscores Cardano’s commitment to developing privacy-preserving financial solutions for decentralized applications (dApps), further solidifying its position as a leader in the blockchain space.