Midnight is a privacy-focused Layer 1 blockchain designed to enable data-protecting decentralised applications through zero-knowledge (ZK) cryptography and selective disclosure. Its architecture separates application logic from private data and allows both shielded and unshielded transactions.

The protocol uses a dual-token system:

• NIGHT is the unshielded, transferable native token used for governance, block production rewards, and ecosystem incentives.
• DUST is a shielded, non-transferable, and decaying resource used exclusively to pay transaction fees on the network.

Midnight introduces a system where NIGHT generates DUST over time. This provides predictable access to network resources without requiring users to spend the native token directly. The separation between value (NIGHT) and utility (DUST) helps address regulatory concerns while preserving user privacy.

NIGHT exists as a native token on both Cardano (as a Cardano Native Asset) and the Midnight mainnet. A protocol-level bridge ensures tokens are locked on one network when active on the other, maintaining a total supply cap of 24 billion tokens.

NIGHT is used for several purposes across the Midnight ecosystem:

• Generating DUST: NIGHT passively generates DUST, the shielded resource used to pay for transactions. The more NIGHT held, the more DUST is generated.
• Network governance: NIGHT will enable on-chain voting on proposals, including protocol upgrades and Treasury spending.
• Block production rewards: NIGHT from the Reserve pool is distributed to block producers and the on-chain Treasury as rewards.
• Treasury backing: NIGHT underpins the protocol-owned Treasury, which may diversify into other assets and blockchains over time.
• Ecosystem participation: NIGHT can be delegated, bridged, or designated to generate DUST for others, enabling sponsored or abstracted transactions.

The DUST mechanism allows:

• Users to transact without revealing metadata
• DApp operators to cover user transaction costs
• Future marketplaces for leasing or exchanging access to network capacity

DUST cannot be transferred or stored as value and decays over time, preventing speculation and reducing regulatory risk.

Midnight was incubated by Input Output (IO), the blockchain engineering company founded by Charles Hoskinson, who also co-founded Ethereum and founded Cardano. Hoskinson conceptualised Midnight as a blockchain built for “rational privacy” in Web3.

The protocol is now being developed by Shielded Technologies, an engineering spin-out from IO. Shielded Technologies is led by Mike Ward (CEO) and Bob Blessing-Hartley (CTO). Midnight's broader governance structure is supported by the Midnight Foundation, an independent organisation tasked with long-term ecosystem development and decentralisation of the network.

Midnight maintains a close relationship with Cardano, using its validator network (Stake Pool Operators) to secure the protocol at launch. The network’s consensus design aligns with the Cardano Partner Chains framework.