What Could Midnight’s Growth Mean for ADA Holders?

Cardano ambassador and delegated representative Leo Chen (@CardanoLeo) published two articles on X on November 11 and 12 examining how Midnight’s growth could benefit Cardano and ADA holders. The first looked at what holders gained through the Glacier Drop and how the two networks interact today. The follow-up examined Cardano trading data and the potential for stake pool operators and their delegators to earn NIGHT.

NIGHT Is Already Generating Activity on Cardano

The Glacier Drop gave holders of eligible Cardano addresses a way to claim NIGHT. Users who hold NIGHT on Cardano can also register it to generate DUST, the resource used to pay for transactions on Midnight. That registration takes place on Cardano and incurs a network fee in ADA.

Citing Super Cardano, Chen put NIGHT trading volume on Cardano at the equivalent of 23.37 million ADA over the seven days through November 11. Super Cardano classified about 88.5% of that volume as organic. Chen also cited approximately 12,753 ADA in fees paid to batchers, the services that process orders on some decentralized exchanges. Cardano network fees are charged separately.

Chen cited Bitquery data linking at least 568,000 Cardano transactions to NIGHT claims or transfers between January and August 2026, about 9.4% of the network’s transactions over that period. The figure combines distribution claims and transfers, leaving the share attributable to regular transfers unclear.

How Could ADA Delegators Earn NIGHT?

Midnight’s roadmap targets the fourth quarter of 2026 for block production rewards and the first quarter of 2027 for opening block production to Cardano stake pool operators. Chen sees a potential benefit for users who delegate ADA to pools that go on to produce blocks on Midnight.

Participating operators would earn NIGHT for producing blocks. What an ADA delegator could earn would depend on how the operator’s rewards are shared and how each delegator’s portion is calculated. The roadmap separately lists NIGHT staking for the first quarter of 2027, when holders would be able to delegate NIGHT itself.

[NEWSBREAK]

Babel Fees Could Give NIGHT Another Use on Cardano

Chen argues that Midnight’s privacy applications could benefit Cardano if they attract users and developers who also adopt Cardano wallets, exchanges, or other applications. He points to Babel Fees as one way to make that easier.

Under Input Output’s proposal, users could offer a supported token to cover a Cardano transaction fee, while a service provider supplies the ADA required by the network. If a provider accepted NIGHT, users holding it on Cardano could cover the fee without first acquiring ADA.

Input Output is targeting the first quarter of 2027 for an initial release with Lace integration. The proposal calls for a single fee provider and support for two major assets, with BTC and USDC listed as examples. NIGHT has yet to be confirmed for the initial release.