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- Cardano co-founder unveiled plans for what he calls the “biggest airdrop ever,” with XRP holders among a broad group of recipients.
- The token drop is a step into enhanced functionality like staking, lending, and on-chain asset use, while staying on familiar rails like the XRPL.
At Consensus 2025, held in Toronto on May 14, Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson confirmed that Ripple (XRP) holders will receive a significant allocation of NIGHT tokens from the Midnight network airdrop.
Billed as the “largest airdrop ever” in terms of reach, the initiative aims to distribute tokens to millions of wallets across multiple blockchains.
According to Midnight’s 45-page tokenomics whitepaper, XRP holders will receive 5% of the total 24 billion NIGHT tokens being distributed, equivalent to around 1.2 billion NIGHT tokens. The allocation will be based on XRP balances at the time of the snapshot.
NIGHT itself is a non-spendable utility token designed for governance and will continuously generate DUST, the network’s shielded, spendable gas token. DUST is unique because it decays if left unused, ensuring predictable network fees and built-in anti-spam protection.
This distribution not only gives XRP holders a stake in Midnight’s privacy-focused ecosystem but also positions them to benefit from future governance and transaction utility within the network.
Multi-Chain Token Distribution
Midnight is a privacy-focused sidechain built on Cardano that’s designed to enable confidential smart contracts and seamless interoperability across multiple blockchains. What makes this airdrop stand out is its inclusivity; it spans eight major blockchain communities, including Cardano (ADA), Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), Avalanche (AVAX), BNB Chain, and BAT.
As we explained earlier, Cardano holders are set to receive the largest share of the distribution, with 50% of the NIGHT tokens reserved for them. Bitcoin holders will get 30%, while holders of Ether, Solana, Binance Coin, Avalanche, and Basic Attention Token will split 5% each.
This positions Midnight not just as a Cardano-exclusive project but as one aiming to bridge multiple ecosystems right from the start.
A staggering 37 million wallets have qualified for the Glacier airdrop, making it one of the most inclusive token distributions ever. The claim portal for Midnight officially opened on July 15, giving eligible users a 60‑day window, running until mid‑September, to secure their NIGHT tokens.
After this initial phase, any unclaimed tokens will move into the “Scavenger Mine” stage, a 30‑day event where participants can earn those tokens by contributing computing power, in a system that works much like proof‑of‑work mining.
This will be followed by the Lost-and-Found phase, which spans four years, allowing original claimants who missed the initial window to recover part of their tokens through self-verification. Any tokens still unclaimed after this period will revert to the network’s on-chain treasury.
At the Consensus event, Hoskinson called this model a pushback against “VC Ponzi” schemes, emphasizing fairness and accessibility. There are no restrictions on recipients; tokens can be freely traded, held, or discarded as users choose.
ADA is trading at $0.8329, marking a 1.48% increase in the last 24 hours despite a 32% drop in trading volume to $1.16 billion. It has still dropped 9.21% over the past week, and has gained 48% in the past month, further raising hopes that it could stretch toward the $2 mark.
