Charles Hoskinson announces XRP holders will get 1.2B NIGHT tokens in Cardano’s Midnight airdrop, dubbed the largest ever, starting July 2025.
The founder of Cardano has confirmed at Consensus 2025 that a substantial portion of the NIGHT tokens from the forthcoming Midnight network will be distributed to XRP holders.
1.2 billion NIGHT tokens have been reserved for XRP holders
Charles Hoskinson, the founder of Cardano, disclosed at Consensus 2025 that there will be a substantial NIGHT token airdrop from the forthcoming Midnight network that will benefit XRP holders. It is being hailed as the “largest airdrop ever” in terms of its reach and is set to distribute tokens to millions of wallets. This would represent a substantial improvement in cross-chain collaboration.
The Midnight network, a privacy-focused sidechain developed for Cardano, is disseminating its native NIGHT tokens to numerous blockchain communities. XRP holders are allocated 5% of the 24 billion NIGHT tokens scheduled for distribution, per the network’s tokenomics. This is approximately equivalent to 1.2 billion tokens. A snapshot was taken on June 11 to ascertain eligibility. At that time, it captured wallets that contained a minimum of $100 in XRP.
Thirty-seven million wallets were determined to be eligible across various ecosystems, such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, BNB, AVAX, BAT, and Cardano. Cardano holders will receive 50% of the allocation, Bitcoin accounts will receive 30%, and other blockchain communities, including XRP, will receive 5%.
The Process for XRP Holders to Claim Their Midnight Airdrop
The Midnight claim page was activated on July 15. It initiated a 60-day period when eligible users could claim their NIGHT tokens. This is a unique opportunity for XRP holders to participate early in a new blockchain that prioritizes privacy.
Hoskinson underscored that integrating XRP holders and other ecosystems is intended to transcend zero-sum competition and reconcile the cryptocurrency community. The founder of Cardano has consistently maintained that cooperation is the subsequent phase in the transition to the sector’s maturity.
As previously reported, Charles Hoskinson, the founder of Cardano, and David Schwartz, the Chief Technology Officer of Ripple, had previously discussed the innovative privacy framework of Midnight and the changing role of XRP in the cryptocurrency industry.
Hoskinson had delineated how Midnight could lead privacy-focused decentralized applications while adhering to regulatory standards. Schwartz also praised Midnight’s design’s scalability and user privacy, describing it as “extremely interesting.”
Midnight is a novel blockchain technology that prioritizes regulatory compliance and data privacy. It employs zero-knowledge cryptography to facilitate the development of applications for enterprises and developers. This ensures the protection of user information while adhering to legal requirements. The NIGHT token enables users to engage in governance, whereas the DUST token is utilized to settle network transactions.
XRP has the potential to establish connections with new systems, demonstrating its adaptability beyond its initial ecosystem. XRP holders play a critical role in the introduction of Midnight, as 1.2 billion NIGHT tokens have been reserved.
