Cardano's Hoskinson Calls for Unity, Announces 37M User Airdrop

Cardano’s founder, Charles Hoskinson, has called for an end to the tribalism within the cryptocurrency community, advocating for a more cooperative approach. During his speech at Consensus 2025 in Toronto, Hoskinson emphasized the need for unity rather than competition, stating that the current state of the crypto industry is characterized by a Nash equilibrium of competition rather than cooperation.

Hoskinson revealed fresh details about the upcoming Glacier Drop, an airdrop for Cardano’s privacy-focused sidechain, Midnight. This airdrop is set to distribute tokens to approximately 37 million users across eight major blockchains. Unlike traditional token launches, Midnight’s tokens will be distributed entirely to the retail community, with no allocation to venture capitalists or early insiders. Hoskinson dismissed venture capital interest in Midnight’s token launch, opting for a VC-free airdrop.

Recipients of Midnight tokens from the Glacier Drop will have the freedom to keep, trade, or discard them, marking a departure from traditional crypto airdrops that often reward insiders or early adopters exclusively. Hoskinson emphasized that the tokens are the property of the recipients, stating, "You already have it, congratulations. It’s yours. It’s your property."

The Glacier Drop is part of Hoskinson’s vision for "cooperative economics," a concept he introduced during his speech. This new economic model will enable developers from different blockchain networks to build hybrid decentralized applications seamlessly. Users will be able to pay fees in their native tokens, with Ethereum developers paying in ETH, Solana developers in SOL, and Bitcoin developers in BTC. Validators across different chains can collaboratively maintain the network, earning rewards regardless of their blockchain affiliation.

Midnight is currently in the testnet phase, with a mainnet launch expected by late 2025. Hoskinson sees the Glacier Drop, cooperative economics, and rational privacy as essential ingredients for welcoming billions of mainstream users as Big Tech companies enter the crypto space. He expressed his enthusiasm for the project, stating, "This is the project that I’m having the most fun with right now, because it’s the project where I get to be friends with everybody."