{"id":7975,"date":"2026-03-31T10:55:45","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T10:55:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=7975"},"modified":"2026-03-31T10:55:45","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T10:55:45","slug":"cardano-founder-launches-privacy-blockchain-midnight-with-dual-token-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cryptonews.uk.com\/?p=7975","title":{"rendered":"Cardano Founder Launches Privacy Blockchain \u2018Midnight\u2019 with Dual-Token System"},"content":{"rendered":"

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  • Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has launched a new privacy-focused layer-1 blockchain known as Midnight.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Midnight features enhanced privacy protections allowing users to protect their privacy while also maintaining compliance with financial regulations.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • While it\u2019s a separate layer\u20131, it maintains close ties to Cardano, allowing Cardano users to easily take advantage of the enhanced privacy features the new chain provides.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

    Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has unveiled Midnight, a new privacy-focused layer-1 blockchain years in the making, with the network officially launching this week after generating its genesis block on Monday.<\/p>\n

    The new chain, developed by Input Output Global (IOG) \u2014 the R&D firm behind Cardano \u2014 reflects Hoskinson\u2019s belief that a lack of robust privacy protections on most popular blockchains is an important part of what\u2019s holding blockchain technology back from mainstream institutional adoption.<\/p>\n

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    Satoshi gave us good money; Ethereum gave us programmability; Cardano brought the third generation of interoperability, scale and good governance. Midnight gives us our identity and privacy back.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

    \n Charles Hoskinson, Cardano founder <\/div>\n<\/div>\n

    The thinking behind Midnight is that most of the world\u2019s value stays off-chain because public ledgers make it very difficult for businesses and institutions to transact with the confidentiality they require. To address that, Midnight uses zero-knowledge proofs to let users selectively reveal or conceal transaction data \u2014 satisfying both privacy needs and compliance requirements.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    According to Midnight\u2019s statement, this hybrid ledger design means public and private data can coexist within a single transaction, with shielded assets capable of hiding balances and counterparty details.<\/p>\n

    For developers, the network introduces a new programming language called Compact, intended to lower the barrier to building privacy-preserving apps without requiring deep expertise in zero-knowledge cryptography.<\/p>\n

    Related: Hoskinson Says He\u2019s Down $3B: Cardano Founder Breaks Silence on Crypto Crash<\/strong><\/p>\n

    A Novel Approach to Gas<\/h2>\n

    One of the more innovative elements of Midnight\u2019s design is its dual-token model. Rather than a single token functioning as a governance, utility and gas token, Midnight splits its economy into two:\u00a0<\/p>\n

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    • NIGHT, for governance and utility, acting as a \u201cstore of value for the ecosystem without being consumed by daily transactions\u201d; and\u00a0<\/li>\n
    • DUST, a renewable gas token generated by simply holding NIGHT.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      \u201cUnlike traditional gas models where tokens are burned or paid out, DUST operates on a recharge model similar to a battery,\u201d the Midnight team said.<\/p>\n

      DUST recharges over time \u2014 proportional to how much NIGHT a user holds \u2014 functioning more like a battery than a fee pool. Developers can also receive DUST allocations from NIGHT holders, opening the door to apps where developers can cover the gas fees for users, meaning users would never have to worry about gas costs at all.<\/p>\n

      Prior to its launch, Midnight began a year-long NIGHT airdrop in December, targeting 37 million eligible wallets. Hoskinson has said he personally put in around US$200 million (AU$291m) of his own money to fund the network\u2019s development.<\/p>\n