Key Insights:
- Midnight Glacier Drop goes live, allowing users access to free NIGHT and DUST tokens.
- Charles Hoskinson has addressed Ledger integration challenges in the Glacier Drops.
- Mignight protocol offers users robust security, scalability, and access to enterprise applications.
Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has shared his thoughts about challenges with the newly launched Midnight Network project airdrop initiative.
The Midnight Foundation announced today, August 5, 2025, that the Glacier Drop is officially live. However, several users have reported issues with claiming the tokens.
Midnight Network Debuts Glacier Airdrop
In an X post, the Cardano founder confirmed that the Glacier Drop has gone live. Charles Hoskinson congratulated Midnight developers for their contribution over the past 6 years.
Hoskinson also thanked the Cardano community for their support, as he hopes they will enjoy the privacy-focused Midnight sidechain. Essentially, the Midnight Foundation aimed to distribute the native tokens, NIGHT and DUST, through the Glacier Drops.
About 37 million eligible global users are billed to participate in the token distribution. Midnight Foundation revealed that the Glacier Drop will take place across eight major blockchains. This makes it one of the largest airdrops in crypto history.
The allocation of the NIGHT token supply will follow the three claim phases: Glacier Drop, Scavenger Mine, and Lost-and-Found. In the first phase, eligible users can claim up to 100% of the total supply of tokens held across key networks.
Based on the token distribution, 50% of the supply is allocated to ADA holders. At the same time, 20% of the supply is allocated to Bitcoin holders.
The remaining 30% is split among Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), XRP, Binance Coin (BNB), Avalanche (AVAX), and Brave (BAT) holders. Note that investors can only claim tokens in proportion to their relative USD value. Unclaimed tokens carry over to the next phase.
Hoskinson Breaks Silence on Ledger Integration Strain
Primarily, the Glacier Drop focuses on retail users to promote fairness and decentralization. Midnight aims to onboard millions into the ecosystem.
However, some users have encountered challenges while trying to claim NIGHT tokens. The Cardano founder disclosed that the issues center around the incompatibility of Ledger hardware wallets with CIP-8 message signing.
Users holding ADA, AVAX, or XRP in Ledger wallets cannot directly participate in the Glacier Drops. The Cardano founder noted that Ledger only supports signing messages up to 31 bytes. However, the Glacier Drop payload is 251 bytes.
Hoskinson explained that the issue is Cardano-specific with Ledger’s software. He said he requested Ledger to conduct an update in July, which has not yet been implemented.
To ensure a smooth airdrop, Hoskinson said the team intends to sign a null transaction. They will do this with the 251-byte Glacier Drop payload as metadata. This hack, according to Hoskinson, is common in the NFT space.
The hack, however, will only be done for ADA Ledger users. This Glacier Drop portal will automatically update to add this path.
Furthermore, Hoskinson emphasized that the airdrop is a 2-month event. His comments aim to reassure community members that they still have time to participate in the airdrop.
Role of Midnight Network and Community Expectations
The Midnight Network is a privacy-focused sidechain of the Cardano blockchain. The ultimate goal of the Midnight Protocol is to integrate privacy and regulatory compliance on the Cardano network.
Midnight operates as a sidechain to Cardano, leveraging the blockchain’s security, scalability, and native token framework.
The protocol also aims to maintain interoperability with Cardano and other blockchains. Midnight uses zero-knowledge proofs to shield sensitive data in transactions and smart contracts.
Crypto community members anticipate that Midnight will deliver robust privacy-preserving solutions. This will enable confidential smart contracts and transactions.
They also expect Midnight to protect sensitive data in Decentralized Finance (DeFi), enterprise applications, and self-sovereign identity (SSI) systems.
For instance, a decentralized lending platform on Midnight could hide loan amounts and user identities. This ensures the platform prioritizes users’ safety while ensuring compliance with credit regulations.
Disclaimer
This article is for informational purposes only and provides no financial, investment, or other advice. The author or any people mentioned in this article are not responsible for any financial loss that may occur from investing in or trading. Please do your research before making any financial decisions.
The post Charles Hoskinson Tackles Cardano Midnight Airdrop Issues appeared first on The Market Periodical.
