At the Paris Blockchain Week 2025, Cardano’s founder, Charles Hoskinson, captured the attention of the audience after mentioning plans for an upcoming Midnight airdrop that would be targeting 37 million users across eight major blockchain networks.
This includes networks like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Cardano, XRP, Solana, Binance Smart Chain, Avalanche, and Polygon.
During the conference, Hoskinson spoke about how blockchain technology has developed over the years. According to him, it has developed in different stages. The first generation was all about decentralization, and Bitcoin led the way.
The second generation was about smart contracts, with Ethereum being the lead. The third phase was all about working together and making different blockchain networks interoperate.
Now, Hoskinson says that the blockchain world is entering its fourth phase, and this phase will be all about privacy. He stressed that privacy isn’t just a bonus, but something that is very important for the growth of blockchain and decentralized finance (DeFi).
“The fourth generation is about privacy,” Hoskinson said. “Privacy isn’t just an optional feature, it’s a necessary feature.” His point is that as blockchain grows, it’s important to have ways for users to control their own information and keep things private. That’s where Midnight comes in.
Midnight is Cardano’s new privacy-focused sidechain. It allows users to interact with it using their tokens from different blockchains without having to convert their assets. This feature is called “chain abstraction,” which simply means you can use your tokens (whether it’s ADA, ETH, or XRP) on Midnight without changing them.
The Midnight airdrop, named the “Glacier Drop,” will give out two types of tokens: NIGHT, which is the main governance token, and DUST, which will be used for private transactions.
Midnight’s team are also working on enhancements to enhance how easily the network can expand and to make it easier for developers to work. Hoskinson said he would like to see blockchain networks collaborate with one another rather than competing against each other. He believes that collaboration will be essential to making decentralized finance truly successful.
Also Read: Analyst: Cardano’s $ADA on Track for a $5 Breakout
