Midnight (NIGHT) Token Airdrop by Cardano: Full Details & Claim Guide

When the crypto world heard that Cardano was backing a 24 billion‑token airdrop, the buzz was louder than a Bitcoin bull run. The Midnight (NIGHT) Token is a privacy‑first utility coin built as a sidechain on Cardano, and its first distribution phase-dubbed the Glacier Drop-stretched across eight major blockchains. Below is everything you need to know: who qualified, how to claim, what the vesting looks like, and where the remaining tokens are headed now that the 60‑day window has closed.

Why the Glacier Drop matters

The Glacier Drop isn’t just a marketing splash; it’s a deliberately engineered token‑economics experiment. By handing out the entire genesis supply of NIGHT (24 billion tokens) in a single, cross‑chain event, Midnight aims to bootstrap a decentralized privacy network without a pre‑sale or venture‑capital dump. The design tackles two classic problems: speculative dumping and centralized ownership. Instead of letting holders sell everything immediately, the project locks claimed tokens in a smart contract that releases 25 % every 90 days over a full year. That “gradual thawing” keeps price pressure low and encourages participants to stay engaged as validators, governors, or DUST‑fuelled app builders.

Who was eligible?

Eligibility was determined by a snapshot on June 11, 2025. Any wallet that held at least $100 worth of the native coin of one of the eight supported chains at that moment qualified. The chains and their native assets were:

• Bitcoin (BTC)
• Ethereum (ETH)
• Ripple (XRP)
• Solana (SOL)
• Avalanche (AVAX)
• BNB Chain (BNB)
• Brave (BAT)
• Cardano (ADA)

The snapshot captured wallet balances at a random, undisclosed timestamp to stop late‑minute purchases designed to game the airdrop. Addresses on the U.S. Treasury’s OFAC sanctions list were automatically excluded, and custodial exchange wallets were filtered out unless the exchange explicitly offered a claim‑on‑behalf service.

Allocation breakdown

Midnight weighted the distribution heavily toward Cardano, reflecting its status as the host chain. Here’s the exact split:

Each chain’s share was proportionally allocated based on the U.S.‑dollar value of the wallet’s holdings at snapshot time. That means a BTC holder with $5,000 worth of Bitcoin received roughly ten times the amount of a BAT holder with $100 worth of Brave tokens.

Step‑by‑step claim process (how it worked)

The claim portal (midnight.gd or midnight.network) opened on August 6, 2025 and stayed live for 60 days, closing on October 4, 2025. If you missed it, you’re now in the next phase, but here’s how the original flow went:

1. Visit the official portal and click “Connect Wallet.” Supported wallets included Eternl, Lace, Yoroi, and MetaMask. If you were on a non‑Cardano chain, you still used MetaMask to prove ownership before switching to a Cardano address for receipt.
2. Sign the first cryptographic proof. The portal displayed a random message; you signed it with the private key of the wallet that held the qualifying assets. No funds moved; it was a pure proof‑of‑custody.
3. Enter a fresh, unused Cardano address where your NIGHT would be sent. Freshness ensured that a compromised address couldn’t be reused to siphon tokens.
4. Confirm the transaction. The portal recorded the two proofs on‑chain, locked the claimed NIGHT in a Vesting Smart Contract, and displayed a receipt with a claim ID.

The two‑step verification automatically disqualified custodial exchange accounts unless the exchange provided its own signing key. That’s why many Binance and Coinbase users saw a “not eligible” message.

Vesting schedule and token lock‑up

Claimed NIGHT didn’t become liquid right away. The contract locked the tokens for 360 days after the mainnet launch (not after the claim date). Every 90 days, 25 % of the locked amount unlocked, but the exact block timestamp for each unlock was randomized within the quarter to prevent coordinated sell‑offs. In practice, if you claimed 100 NIGHT, you could trade 25 NIGHT after the first quarter, another 25 NIGHT after the second, and so on.

This “gradual thawing” was designed to keep a healthy validator set online for the first year of operation. Early unlocks gave participants enough liquidity to cover transaction fees (paid in the network’s DUST token) while still incentivizing them to stay involved in governance and block production.

What happened to unclaimed tokens?

The Glacier Drop wasn’t a one‑shot giveaway. Tokens left unclaimed after the October 4 deadline automatically rolled into the second distribution stage called the Scavenger Mine. In that phase, participants solve public‑good computational puzzles-think of it as useful mining that also seeds core network infrastructure. The puzzle rewards are a share of the leftover NIGHT pool plus a small amount of DUST for transaction fees.

Any NIGHT still sitting in the Scavenger Mine after it closes moves to the final Lost‑and‑Found phase, a kind of “last chance” airdrop that only activates after the mainnet is live. This cascade ensures the full 24 billion tokens eventually enter circulation, but only if the community actively engages.

Practical tips for future claim phases

If you missed the Glacier Drop, you still have two more chances, but each comes with its own friction points:

• Scavenger Mine: You’ll need a Cardano wallet, a modest amount of DUST to pay gas, and the ability to run the puzzle client (available as a CLI tool on GitHub). The puzzles aren’t CPU‑heavy, but they do require basic scripting knowledge.
• Lost‑and‑Found: This phase will be a simple snapshot of puzzle participants; the claim portal will likely be similar to the Glacier Drop, so the same wallet‑connect steps apply.

Key takeaways for anyone eyeing future distributions: set up a self‑custody Cardano wallet now, keep a small DUST reserve, and follow Midnight’s official Discord for real‑time announcements.

Security and compliance notes

Midnight’s team took compliance seriously. All addresses on the OFAC SDN list were filtered out before any tokens were minted. The two‑proof system also blocked Sybil attacks, because each proof required a unique private key and a fresh destination address. However, the self‑custody requirement excluded the majority of exchange‑based users, which many critics called a “participation barrier.” In practice, the barrier trimmed the eligible pool from a theoretical 34 million down to roughly 12-15 million active claimants.

What does this mean for the Cardano ecosystem?

Cardano now hosts one of the biggest cross‑chain airdrops in crypto history. By allocating half of the NIGHT supply to ADA holders, the project reinforces Cardano’s role as a hub for privacy‑focused sidechains. For Cardano developers, the launch opens new avenues: building privacy‑preserving dApps, integrating DUST‑based fee models, and participating in governance votes weighted by NIGHT holdings.

From a market perspective, the careful vesting and phased redistribution reduce the risk of a massive price crash that typically follows a large airdrop. Early price action for NIGHT has been muted, reflecting the locked‑up supply and the community‑first design.

Quick checklist for anyone still wanting to claim or participate

• Set up a self‑custody Cardano wallet (Eternl, Lace, or Yoroi recommended).
• Keep a small amount of DUST on hand for transaction fees.
• Verify your eligibility on the snapshot list (look for $100+ value on any of the eight chains).
• If you qualified for the Glacier Drop, note that the claim window is over; move to the Scavenger Mine.
• Watch Midnight’s official Discord and Twitter for the exact start date of the next phase.

Final thoughts

The Midnight airdrop set a new benchmark for how a privacy‑focused blockchain can distribute its native token responsibly. By mixing cross‑chain reach, a transparent eligibility algorithm, and a multi‑phase vesting plan, the project aims to build a genuinely decentralized community rather than a short‑term hype cycle. If you’re a Cardano holder, you’ve already earned a piece of that vision. If you’re not, now is the time to create a Cardano wallet and start learning about DUST, NIGHT, and the upcoming puzzle‑driven phases.