Cardano’s Hoskinson Unveils Midnight Airdrop, ADA Surges Toward $2 Target

By: crypto news flash|2025/05/15 17:45:05

Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson revealed that the upcoming Midnight sidechain and its Glacier Airdrop aim to airdrop 37 million Midnight tokens.Midnight is a sidechain explicitly designed for the Cardano platform by Input Output Global to provide enhanced data protection.Consensus 2025 kicked off in Toronto on May 14 and concludes tomorrow. The event brings together some of the world’s most impactful figures in cryptocurrency to discuss fundamental issues shaping the future of the industry.This year’s hot topics are regulation, tokenization’s breakout, and the evolving stablecoin function. Bo Hines, chairman of the Presidential Council of Advisers for Digital Assets, and Eric Trump join the speakers list.One of the conference highlights was a presentation by the founder of Cardano (ADA), the current ninth-largest market-cap cryptocurrency valued at $27 billion.Midnight and the Glacier Drop: New DevelopmentsDuring his session, Hoskinson provided some fresh information on Midnight, Cardano‘s upcoming privacy-focused sidechain. He revealed the highly anticipated Glacier Drop airdrop. The airdrop will be sending tokens to 37 million wallets across eight of the biggest blockchains, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Cardano, Ripple (XRP), Solana (SOL), Binance Smart Chain, Avalanche (AVAX), and Polygon (POL).The two new tokens being distributed are NIGHT, intended for governance and potentially network security, and DUST, which facilitates private transactions through selective disclosure mechanisms.Unlike the typical airdrops, Hoskinson highlighted that Midnight‘s distribution plan expressly excludes venture capitalists and insiders. It instead rewards everyday users in what he describes as a more moral and decentralized method of launching tokens.Referring to this approach as a pushback against what he calls “VC Ponzi” schemes, Hoskinson emphasized the importance of fairness and accessibility. Recipients of the tokens will not face any restrictions; they can trade, hold, or even discard them freely.“Every Consensus, there’s a new token claiming superiority,” Hoskinson noted, encouraging the crypto community to move beyond constant competition and adopt a more cooperative economic mindset.He added that Midnight is the project he’s currently “having the most fun with” and highlighted its potential to attract the next generation of crypto users, especially as large technology companies increase their involvement in the space.What Sets Midnight Apart?Midnight is unique in utilizing zero-knowledge cryptography, which allows users to prove facts without revealing underlying data. This innovation paves the way for private smart contracts and decentralized apps that are still in line with legislation such as GDPR. Unlike privacy coins, which hide everything, Midnight employs selective disclosure so users can choose when and with whom they would like to share information.Regulatory changes remain a priority. There are 72 crypto ETF applications awaiting consideration by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) currently. Among them is Grayscale’s application for a Cardano ETF, under NYSE Arca Rule 8.201-E, which governs the listing of shares of commodity-based trusts.On the trading side, ADA is sitting at $0.82, up 3.7% in the last 24 hours and nearly a 21% rise in the past week. However, the trading volume has fallen by over 12%, currently sitting at $1.1 billion. With all these happenings still in the cooking pot, ADA can stretch its limits and shoot to $2.

Peeling back its smooth trading interface to examine the underlying legal relationships and settlement processes, you will find that this is far from a simple "RWA asset revolution," but rather a complex game of interests involving spot pricing, rights ownership, and the monopoly of underlying custo...

In such a crowded cross-border payment arena, where is the next stop for the future?

Only by stepping into the mud can one have the chance to touch gold.

Why Is Bitcoin Down in 2026? What We Can Learn From 2022

Why is Bitcoin down in 2026? Bitcoin has just recorded its worst first half since 2022, with back-to-back quarterly losses, record ETF outflows, and extreme fear. Here's what history says, how 2026 differs from the last bear market, and the three signals traders should wat

The large models in the United States are moving towards closure in the name of security

The government successfully inserted itself as an approver between commercial AI models and their users for the first time.

From the white-haired stock god to the billionaire fund mogul, the smart people shorting Nvidia are all getting rich using the same framework

Give up on heavily investing in Nvidia's "nine major bottlenecks"! This article analyzes the underlying logic behind top AI investors making billions: physical infrastructure such as electricity, HBM, and optical interconnects are the true keys to wealth in AI hardware.

Morning Report | CoinEx becomes a key hub for Iran to evade sanctions, involving over $3.8 billion in funds; Kalshi seeks a new round of financing, with a valuation potentially rising to $40 billion

Overview of Important Market Events on June 25

Global Launch: As predictions become the most scarce asset in the AI era, Manadia is defining the next generation of the value internet

The trusted AI prediction ecosystem Manadia, which has secured $7 million in funding from well-known institutions like OKX, will globally launch in June. The core token UMXM has already been listed on multiple mainstream platforms, inviting you to seize the new blue ocean of the trillion-level predi...

Argentina vs Cape Verde: When a Record-Breaking Legend Meets an Unbreakable Underdog

How does Gate redo "buying and selling stocks" from the cryptocurrency world to the stock market?

The competition logic of exchanges has changed.

Former ByteDance employee's account: How I started with two Pinduoduo hard drives and made six times the profit with Seagate to achieve financial freedom?

Visa and Mastercard join 140 giants to launch a new stablecoin, but the impact on the market landscape may still be limited

WEEX Launches Depth Chart for Spot Trading

WEEX Spot now supports Depth Chart, helping users visualize buy and sell orders, spot liquidity walls, and understand market depth more clearly before placing trades.

MiCA reshuffle begins, Binance temporarily bids farewell to the EU

What Binance leaves behind is not scattered retail investors, but a whole batch of high-value users who are forced to liquidate and have almost nowhere to go.