Hoskinson: ADA Holders Can Keep ADA — Use Midnight’s NIGHT as Privacy Rail
Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson said ADA holders do not need to sell ADA to gain exposure to Midnight Network’s NIGHT token, calling the projects complementary. Speaking on the Discover Crypto podcast in December 2025, Hoskinson described Midnight as a privacy-first smart contract layer for Cardano that uses zero-knowledge proofs to enable confidential dApps — “the ChatGPT of privacy” — while ADA remains responsible for Cardano staking, governance and consensus. Midnight launched NIGHT as a Cardano native asset via a Glacier Drop (total supply 24 billion): 50% allocated to Cardano wallets, 20% to Bitcoin wallets and the remaining 30% split among Ethereum, Solana, XRP Ledger, BNB Chain, Avalanche, Brave Wallet and one other ecosystem. Midnight’s randomized thaw shows about 4.5 billion NIGHT (19% of supply) claimed by 170,000+ wallets; claimed tokens unlock over 360 days in quarterly releases to avoid simultaneous cross-chain unlocks. Hoskinson said Midnight provides optional privacy tooling and developer infrastructure that should complement ADA-led growth and help attract cross-chain liquidity (including Bitcoin DeFi) to ecosystems that offer yield, credit markets and real-world utility. For traders: the announcement clarifies that NIGHT is positioned as complementary rather than competitive to ADA, highlights a substantial airdrop distribution and staged unlock schedule that may affect NIGHT’s sell pressure, and signals potential cross-chain flows into Cardano-linked products without forcing ADA holders to divest.
Neutral
The news is neutral for ADA price dynamics. Hoskinson’s endorsement that ADA holders don’t need to sell to access NIGHT reduces immediate downward pressure on ADA and frames Midnight as complementary, which is supportive. However, the direct market effects are likely stronger for NIGHT: a large Glacier Drop (24 billion supply) with 19% already claimed and a 360-day staged unlock creates potential sell pressure on NIGHT as claims vest. For ADA, potential upside exists from increased developer activity and cross-chain liquidity attracted by Midnight, but this is a longer-term fundamental benefit rather than an immediate catalyst. Short-term: ADA price impact should be limited or neutral because the announcement reassures holders and does not introduce new ADA tokenomics. Traders should watch NIGHT claim/vesting schedules, on-chain flows from airdrop recipients, and any liquidity migrations into Cardano DeFi — these factors could indirectly influence ADA over weeks to months. Long-term: if Midnight drives developer adoption and real-asset or Bitcoin-native flows into Cardano, ADA could benefit from higher utility and demand, which would be bullish over time. Overall, immediate price action is expected to be driven primarily by NIGHT distribution dynamics rather than ADA.