Charles Hoskinson’s Midnight Airdrop Targets 37M Wallets, Excludes VCs

Story Highlights

• Midnight, Cardano’s privacy sidechain, will airdrop NIGHT and DUST to 37M wallets across 8 blockchains, excluding VCs entirely.

• Developers can pay fees in native tokens like ETH or BTC, and validators from any chain can earn rewards, promoting cross-chain unity.

Charles Hoskinson is done with crypto rivalries. Speaking at Consensus 2025, he revealed fresh details about the upcoming Glacier Drop, a massive airdrop tied to Cardano’s privacy-focused sidechain, Midnight. This airdrop targets 37M wallets across 8 blockchains for their native currency, including BTC, ETH, ADA, XRP, SOL, BSC, AVAX, and POL, distributing NIGHT either DUST. Midnight mainnet will launch by the end of 2025.

Cardano founder unveils details on Midnight airdrop

At Consensus 2025 in Toronto, Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson unveiled fresh details about Glacier Drop, the upcoming airdrop for Midnight, Cardano’s privacy-focused sidechain, according to CoinDesk.

Aimed at reducing crypto…

— CoinNess Global (@CoinnessGL) May 15, 2025

No VCs, Just the People

Unlike most airdrops, this one won’t hand anything to venture capitalists. Hoskinson made it clear that no venture capital firms will be involved. Instead, the entire supply will go to everyday users, who will be free to keep, trade, or ignore the tokens. Midnight’s tokens, both the governance-focused NIGHT and the privacy-focused DUST, will be given to retail users only. This decision is part of what he described as a principled approach, choosing to bypass big investors and give back to the broader crypto community.

Cross-Chain, No Drama

Midnight isn’t just about privacy. It introduces a new economic model that lets developers from different blockchain ecosystems build and interact without needing to convert tokens. Developers can pay network fees in their native tokens like ETH, SOL, or BTC, while validators from any chain can earn rewards by supporting the network. This model is meant to encourage cooperation across ecosystems rather than competition.

Airdrop with a Message

Hoskinson said he turned down VC interest, brushing off their hype and quick-money mindset. For him, this drop is about principle, giving tokens to the community, not insiders. Midnight is still in testnet, with mainnet expected later in 2025, but the message is already clear: stop the tribalism, start building together.

“This is the project I’m having the most fun with,” he said. “It’s where I get to be friends with everybody.”

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