Midnight, the long-awaited privacy-focused blockchain developed by Cardano’s creators, launched its mainnet today. The mainnet debut comes nearly four months after Midnight’s token generation event (TGE) for its flagship NIGHT cryptocurrency.
What is the Midnight Network?
The Midnight network is a layer-1 blockchain that brings privacy to blockchain technology. Cardano’s founder, Charles Hoskinson, describes Midnight as the “world’s first fourth generation of blockchain.”
According to him, Satoshi Nakamoto’s Bitcoin provided everyone with “good money.” The Ethereum network brought programmability via smart contracts, while Cardano, the third generation of blockchain, brought “interoperability, scale and good governance.” However, Midnight will restore everyone’s identity and privacy.
The project team explained that most of the world’s value lies outside the blockchain because the most prominent blockchains use public ledgers. Midnight addresses these hurdles by providing a range of features that make blockchain adoption easier and bolster privacy.
For example, the hybrid ledger allows applications to process public and private data through the blockchain. Projects built on the Midnight network will also be able to deploy shielded and unshielded assets. They can also disclose any on-chain data to whoever they want.
Highlighting the benefits of the newly launched network, Midnight Foundation’s president, Fahmi Syed, said:
“When privacy is built into the system itself, it becomes possible to bring real-world activity and assets on-chain without exposing the underlying data — unlocking entirely new forms of economic value that were previously impossible on transparent infrastructure.”
Already, Midnight has onboarded various prominent companies into its ecosystem. Google Cloud and MoneyGram, for example, are currently node operators on the layer-1 blockchain. Other partners include Worldpay, eToro, Vodafone’s Pairpoint, Bullish, and Shielded Technologies.
The NIGHT and DUST Tokens
The inherently volatile nature of cryptocurrencies makes it difficult for businesses adopting blockchain to accurately forecast transaction costs. Midnight unveiled a dual-token system to rectify this, while fostering privacy.
The dual-token system features the NIGHT and DUST tokens. NIGHT is the native crypto used for governance, staking, and rewards. DUST, regarded as fuel, is used to cover transaction fees. Note that DUST cannot be bought or transferred. When users hold NIGHT in their wallet, DUST tokens are automatically generated over time, mimicking a battery recharge. Thus, the DUST tokens replenishes itself.
Developers can hold NIGHT to generate DUST that their users can use to cover transaction expenses.
Following the news of the Midnight mainnet launch, NIGHT’s price has failed to impress, dropping by over 11%. At the time of writing, it traded at $0.04322. On the bright side, ADA, the native coin for Midnight’s partner network, Cardano, saw a mild price increase. It currently trades at $0.243, representing an over 1% increase.
More Privacy-Focused Crypto Projects
Meanwhile, in other news, various crypto projects have also begun rolling out privacy-focused blockchain services to users. Last week, Umbra, a crypto project, debuted public access to its privacy wallet on the Solana network. Earlier this month, decentralized exchange Aster launched its privacy-focused blockchain for derivatives traders.
Prominent figures like Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin have invested millions of dollars in developing privacy-focused tools.
Recall that privacy-focused blockchain projects like Zcash and Monero got the spotlight earlier this year, suggesting an increase in interest in blockchain privacy.
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