NIGHT Token Outperforms XRP & Solana with $4B Daily Trading Volume

In a groundbreaking development, Charles Hoskinson, the founder of Cardano (ADA), announced that the NIGHT token, native to the Midnight network, has reached a massive $4 billion in 24-hour  trading volume, outperforming XRP and Solana combined. A success directly derived from the rapid adoption of the NIGHT token and its listing on leading centralized exchanges, including Binance, Bybit, Kraken, and OKX. At the time of press, the NIGHT price is $0.1021, with a market capitalization of approximately $1.2 billion.

NIGHT Token Surge in Trading Volume: What’s Behind the Success?

NIGHT is the native token of Midnight, Cardano’s new privacy-focused network that sits alongside the main Cardano (ADA) activities led by Charles Hoskinson. NIGHT token launched on December 8 after months of hype, and quickly listed on major exchanges, including Binance, Bybit, Kraken, and OKX. Later, Bitpanda, MEXC, Gate.io, KuCoin, and HTX also declared the addition of the cryptocurrency. In the early stages of its development, NIGHT has seen extraordinary growth, quickly entering the top 60 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization with a volume-to-market-cap ratio surpassing 300% at certain points.

Midnight’s Privacy-Focused Solutions for DeFi and More

Cardano’s DeFi ecosystem has introduced Midnight as a ZKP-based privacy layer to address the critical need for compliance-friendly confidentiality. Cardano-based Midnight is set to introduce a series of privacy advantages to the ecosystem. It actually offers “regulatory‑friendly” privacy by making use of a zero-knowledge proof architecture and a dual-ledger system, which enables users to make private transactions while being transparent to audits. 

Midnight will appeal to users who value their anonymity and regulatory compliance by providing them with privacy-focused solutions. Hoskinson has indicated that privacy will solve some of the major concerns in the DeFi industry, where confidentiality is commonly perceived as a significant obstacle to wider adoption.

Hoskinson’s Vision on Midnight and Night Token

Hoskinson is confident in the future of Midnight and believes that the privacy-preserving smart contract feature of Midnight will become one of the primary contributors to total value locked (TVL) and active user growth. Currently, the network is in a “bootstrap” phase, and the Kūkolu phase, which is the second of four distinct phases in the Midnight roadmap, is scheduled to begin in Q1 2026. 

The Cardano ecosystem, which was previously called a “ghost chain” due to the relatively low activity, has now experienced considerable gains in terms of trading volume, as NIGHT pushes adoption. NIGHT has continued to maintain strong momentum since its launch, and Hoskinson also highlighted in an X post that the ecosystem is developing, and the launch of the NIGHT token has been “an incredible success.” 

NIGHT’s Thawing Mechanism: Unlocking Token Distribution in a 450-Day Period

NIGHT token was launched with great expectations among the users of Cardano, with its unique role in the Midnight network, with a hybrid model that makes NIGHT a privacy-conscious alternative in the growing decentralized finance (DeFi) space. Furthermore, NIGHT is designed to have a special token unlocking mechanism known as “thawing”. This system unlocks token allocations in waves over a 450-day period, encouraging users to keep interacting with the network and trade actively. This new model of distribution has already paid off with more than 133,000 transactions on the blockchain of the Cardano platform on NIGHT tokens.

Conclusion: The Future of NIGHT and Midnight Network

Charles Hoskinson’s announcement about the NIGHT token surpassing XRP and Solana in trading volume signals a major shift in the cryptocurrency space. Midnight’s unique privacy-focused features, as well as its strategic token distribution, have strengthened the ecosystem to reshape the DeFi space. As Hoskinson himself said, “You ready for 2026? LFG,” the future of the NIGHT token could bring significant growth for Cardano’s ecosystem and attract a new wave of privacy-conscious users.

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Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Cryptocurrency investments are highly volatile and risky. Always conduct your own research and consult with a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions.