Cardano’s Midnight Network Whitepaper Reveals NIGHT Token Details for XRP Holders
The Cardano team just dropped a hefty 45-page whitepaper for its upcoming *Midnight Network*, and it’s got some interesting details—especially for XRP holders. The document outlines how the network’s native token, NIGHT, will be distributed across eight major blockchains, including XRP Ledger, Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana.
If you held at least $100 worth of any of these chains’ native tokens as of June 11 (the snapshot date), you’re eligible to claim NIGHT. That means XRP holders with a balance of $100 or more at the time qualify. Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson had previously hinted that the airdrop would reach a staggering 37 million wallets, but the whitepaper narrows it down to specific chains.
How Much NIGHT Will XRP Holders Get?
The total supply of NIGHT is set at 24 billion tokens. Half of that—12 billion—is reserved for Cardano’s ADA holders. Bitcoin holders get the next biggest slice, with 20% (around 4.8 billion tokens).
The remaining 30% (7.2 billion NIGHT) is split evenly among XRP, Basic Attention Token (BAT), Ethereum, BNB, Solana, and Avalanche holders. That works out to roughly 1.2 billion NIGHT for XRP users. Of course, the exact amount each person gets depends on how much XRP they held during the snapshot. Bigger wallets, bigger rewards—simple as that.
When and How Can You Claim?
The claiming process starts in July 2025 and runs for 60 days. After that, things get a little more interesting. Any unclaimed tokens enter the *Scavenger Mine* phase, where users can earn leftovers by completing computational tasks. That’ll last about 30 days.
And if you somehow miss *both* of those? There’s a *Lost-and-found* phase—basically a last call for anyone who didn’t get their tokens the first time around. After four years, whatever’s still unclaimed goes to Midnight’s treasury.
One catch: even if you claim your NIGHT early, the tokens won’t be fully liquid right away. They’ll be locked in a Cardano smart contract, with 25% released every three months over a year. That’s probably to avoid a massive sell-off right after the drop.
What’s Next for Midnight?
Right now, Midnight is still in testnet mode. The mainnet launch is expected later this year, but the whitepaper says it’ll go live 90 days after the *Glacier Drop* (the initial airdrop phase).
Hoskinson has suggested that Midnight could become a privacy-focused hub for decentralized finance—maybe even for the XRP ecosystem. It’s a bit early to say how that’ll play out, but the token distribution at least gives XRP holders a reason to keep an eye on it.
For now, though, it’s a waiting game. July 2025 is still a ways off, but if you held XRP (or any of the other eligible tokens) back in June, you might want to mark your calendar.
