The Midnight Network, a new zero-knowledge smart contract blockchain focused on enhancing privacy for its users, has revealed the economic model that will underpin its operations, alongside a new token distribution model.
In a new paper published by the Midnight TGE, the token-generating entity responsible for the initial distribution of $NIGHT to network participants, the $NIGHT token distribution framework, dubbed ‘Glacier Drop’, has also been announced.
Glacier Drip is a multi-phase airdrop that initially allocates 100 per cent of $NIGHT tokens to users across eight major blockchain ecosystems, namely Bitcoin, Ethereum, Cardano, Solana, Binance Chain, Brave, Ripple, and Avalanche.
The release of the tokenomics paper follows the recent launch of the Midnight Foundation, a Cayman-based foundation, which is committed to supporting the growth and stewardship of the Midnight blockchain ecosystem.
The $NIGHT token distribution framework will consist of three phases, beginning in July 2025:
Claim phase (60 days)
One hundred per cent of tokens are allocated and available to eligible participants who hold a minimum balance in native tokens on one or more of the eight named networks.
Scavenger mine phase (30 days)
This stage will look to broaden participation by enabling anyone to contribute to Midnight’s launch by completing computational tasks, regardless of whether they were allocated $NIGHT in the initial claim phase. All of the unclaimed tokens are available for scavenging through ‘Proof of Work’ operations of the participants.
Lost-and-found phase (four years)
After the mainnet launch, original eligible wallets that missed the claim window can reclaim a portion of their allocation using self-directed methods.
The distribution of the tokens following the claim will aim to prevent supply shock by unlocking tokens in four instalments, each of which takes place at a random date within a 360-day window. This thawing mechanism is also designed to reduce volatility and incentivise long-term network participation.
Enabling rational privacy
“A significant obstacle to mainstream adoption of blockchain technology is actually one of its core features: persistent transparency, which exposes sensitive user and business data, making it impossible to meet the privacy standards required by regulators and expected by individuals,” explained Fahmi Syed, president of the Midnight Foundation.
“Midnight solves this problem with privacy enabling programmable smart contracts – a breakthrough that lets developers choose what information is shared and with whom, without placing sensitive data on-chain. The result is rational privacy: an approach that enables the utility, compliance and security standards needed for real-world adoption.
“Further, the distribution of $NIGHT represents to airdrops what Midnight represents to rational privacy: a unique, thoughtful and fair approach to a difficult and complex task,” added Syed. “The airdrop landscape is in some ways biased to large centralised actors, just as individual and corporate privacy is in the digital era. Midnight, with this Glacier Drop as a starting point, is tackling those issues in a way that is necessary for the industry’s evolution.”
