Cardano’s privacy-focused Midnight Network has officially launched its multi-chain Glacier Drop airdrop, giving out 24 billion NIGHT tokens to eligible holders across eight blockchains.
Key Takeaways
- Midnight Foundation has launched the Glacier Drop, enabling eligible wallets across ADA, BTC, ETH, XRP, SOL, BNB, AVAX, and BAT to claim their allocations via a public claim portal.
- 24 billion NIGHT tokens in total are being distributed: 50% to ADA holders, 20% to BTC holders, and the remaining 30% shared among other chains. Snapshot eligibility was based on holdings of at least $100 as of June 11, 2025.
- There are three stages of rollout being followed for the distribution. First, 60-day Claim Phase, followed by a 30-day Scavenger Mine phase for on‑chain claimers, and lastly, a four-year Lost‑and‑Found period for late recovery post‑mainnet launch.
Midnight Network has officially unveiled its Glacier Drop airdrop on August 5, 2025. Around 33 to 37 million eligible wallets in total across eight major chains were invited to claim NIGHT, the native utility token for Midnight’s privacy-first sidechain of Cardano. According to a report from AInvest, the event is part of a multi-phase rollout which aims to promote fairness and long-term engagement.
Being eligible to receive NIGHT tokens was determined by a snapshot on June 11, which requires minimum holding valued to $100 in native tokens. The allocation percentages were determined, where holder of Cardano receive 50% of the token, 20% for Bitcoin holders, while the remaining 30% is distributed among Ethereum, XRP, Solana, BNB Chain, Avalanche, and Basic Attention Token holders.
Users can claim the tokens by visiting the official Midnight portal, connecting their origin address, providing destination Cardano wallet, accepting the terms, and lastly, signing the claim transaction. However, there is no immediate access to liquidity as tokens are subject to a Redemption Period after mainnet launch with unlocks spread across four events over a 360‑day vesting schedule.
Purpose-Driven Airdrop
Midnight Foundation President Fahmi Syed emphasized the Glacier Drop’s aim to improve and redefine cross-chain token distribution, noting:
This airdrop is a rethink of how value and access can be distributed across chains, communities, and use cases, and is designed to resist manipulation and encourage long-term engagement.
Meanwhile, Charles Hoskinson, Cardano’s founder, expressed his gratitude in an X post to the product team behind the project while highlighting the application as “the most complex ever built in the history of distributions in crypto.”
Price & Market Impact
As of writing (9:00 AM UTC), Cardano (ADA) trades at approximately $0.7288, with a moderate loss of 2.1% over the past 24 hours according to TradingView. Despite this dip, ADA surged earlier in the day, gaining 3.5% to a high near $0.7513, thanks to anticipation surrounding the airdrop and a $71 million Cardano treasury fund earmarked for ecosystem development.
Meanwhile, NIGHT token has seen volatility post-launch. According to CoinGecko data, its price trades at approximately $0.0003947 as of the writing time, up about 7.1% over 24 hours, with a 7‑day performance roughly flat (-0.1%). 24‑hour volume stood around $103,700; market cap estimates are near $79,700, with 620 million NIGHT tokens circulating.
What’s Next
The launch of Midnight’s Glacier Drop airdrop represents a landmark multi-chain distribution, positioning NIGHT as a central token in Cardano’s roadmap toward privacy-centric, interoperable Web3 infrastructure. While ADA saw early gains, it has settled back near $0.7288 amid broader crypto volatility. NIGHT’s modest uptick reflects initial enthusiasm, though liquidity constraints remain. The real impact will unfold as the vesting schedule plays out, Scavenger Mine and Lost‑and‑Found phases begin, and the Midnight mainnet officially launches, a key milestones to watch over the coming months.
Summary
Cardano’s Midnight has introduced the Glacier Drop, distributing 24 billion NIGHT tokens across eight major blockchains in one of the most ambitious cross-chain airdrops to date. With 33–37 million wallets eligible and a structured vesting schedule, the move highlights both the growing demand for privacy-focused protocols and Cardano’s commitment to cross-chain innovation. While both ADA and NIGHT saw brief price surges, the true market impact will unfold as the Midnight ecosystem matures.
