Overview
Midnight TGE runs the official website for collecting NIGHT, the token of the Midnight privacy network, which was given away for free in a multi-phase distribution that began with the Glacier Drop. No purchase was involved: eligible participants claimed a share during set claim phases. Claimants then return to unlock their share and move it to their own wallet1.
Midnight TGE is a subsidiary of the Midnight Foundation, the organization that supports the Midnight network2. Cardano and Midnight play different roles here. NIGHT was created as a token on Cardano, so claims were tied to Cardano addresses3 and each redemption is a Cardano transaction4. The same 24 billion tokens are mirrored on Midnight, where holding NIGHT generates DUST, the resource that pays for Midnight transactions5.
Key Features
- Free tokens, no purchase. The first phase, the Glacier Drop, was open to holders in eight blockchain ecosystems6. A second phase, Scavenger Mine, let anyone earn a share by having their browser solve computer puzzles in the background7.
- Gradual, predictable unlocking. Each allocation thaws, meaning unlocks, in four equal 25% installments spaced 90 days apart, with a random first unlock day inside the first 90 days8.
- Redemption in five steps. The Redemption portal lets claimants connect a Cardano wallet or paste an address, check what has thawed, and send the tokens to their Destination address in one transaction4.
- Someone else can cover the fee. An "On Behalf Of" option lets any wallet pay the small ADA network fee, so tokens bound for an offline wallet still reach the right address8.
- Public, audited code. The Cardano smart contracts (self-running programs on the blockchain) that hold and release NIGHT are published under the Apache 2.0 open-source license in a public repository3, and the audit firm Tweag reviewed the NIGHT and Glacier Drop code9.
What to Expect
Visitors land on a timeline of the distribution phases, each marked open or closed, alongside a news feed of updates from the Midnight TGE team1. The Scavenger Mine and Redemption pages each give step-by-step instructions and a walkthrough video7,4. A long FAQ explains terms like claiming, redeeming and thawing2.
Claimants head to the Redemption portal at redeem.midnight.gd. A dashboard shows a countdown to the next unlock, the tokens ready to redeem, and the total allocation. You need a Cardano wallet with a little ADA for the fee, even though the NIGHT itself is free8. The portal stays open through the 360-day thawing period plus a 90-day grace period, and tokens remain redeemable after it closes by working with the smart contracts directly8.
To move large numbers of claims without clogging the main Cardano network, the distribution uses Hydra, a Cardano tool that processes transactions off the main chain2.
