NIGHT, the Midnight network’s native token, is steadily gaining adoption, with on-chain data showing a significant increase in holders.
According to Cardano-focused block explorer Cexplorer.io, NIGHT currently has over 20,700 unique holders. Remarkably, this represents an increase of approximately 3,000 wallets in just one epoch. This update highlights the growing interest in Midnight as the project approaches a major milestone for the network.
The growth of NIGHT holders will accelerate beyond the times.
This latest milestone continues the clear upward trend. On January 2, Cexplorer reported that the number of NIGHT holders exceeded 17,700, just one epoch from reaching 14,000. The consistent increase in the number of wallets suggests that participation is expanding beyond early adopters.
Even though NIGHT has corrected from its high in late December, it continues to show a steady increase. This shows that user interest is driven more by ecosystem developments than by short-term price fluctuations.
Graph showing the number of NIGHT holders
Hoskinson: 2026 will be a strong year for Cardano and Midnight
The adoption of Midnight is in line with recent comments from Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson, who has reiterated his confidence in both Cardano and Midnight heading into 2026.
In a January podcast, Hoskinson said 2026 will be a “great year” for the ecosystem, citing a more mature crypto market and major innovation developments. He specifically highlighted Midnight as a key contributor and noted that a privacy-focused sidechain will be launched soon.
Notably, NIGHT debuted with a market valuation of over $1 billion before exiting. However, Hoskinson stressed that price trends do not fully reflect the project's long-term importance on Cardano's roadmap.
At the time of writing, NIGHT is trading at $0.07952, a significant 82% drop from its December trading price of $0.45.
Cardano Knight Token Coin Market Cap
NIGHT and ADA collaborate
Hoskinson also addressed speculation about whether ADA holders should sell their tokens to purchase NIGHT. He pushed back on this idea, stressing that NIGHT does not seek to replace ADA, but rather extends Cardano's capabilities.
Midnight's role is to provide privacy infrastructure for decentralized applications, allowing developers to build confidential smart contracts while leveraging Cardano's security and payments layer. In Hoskinson's words, Midnight acts as a privacy engine for the broader ecosystem.
He also highlighted Cardano's first-mover advantage, noting that Cardano dApps will be the first beneficiaries of Midnight's capabilities. This priority was also reflected in NIGHT's distribution, with 50% of the total supply of 24 billion allocated to ADA holders.
With the launch of the Midnight sidechain nearing and Cardano preparing multiple upgrades in 2026, the increase in the number of NIGHT holders confirms the initial positioning.
