Verified May 2026. This article reflects the state of the Midnight ecosystem as of the publication date. The ecosystem is moving fast, always cross-reference with the midnight blog and FAQ Section for the latest updates.
Have you been wondering how to get your first NIGHT token, which exchanges currently list NIGHT, or how to withdraw it to a Midnight-compatible wallet?
In this tutorial, I will walk you through the current paths for acquiring NIGHT tokens, including where NIGHT is listed, how to fund a supported wallet, and how the Cardano-to-Midnight bridge works. I will also cover the important cNIGHT vs mNIGHT distinction, what does not exist yet, what users should be careful about, and what is coming as the Midnight ecosystem continues to develop.
Introduction
What Is Midnight Network About?
Midnight Network is a privacy-focused Layer 1 blockchain built to help developers create privacy-preserving applications and allow users to interact with those applications without exposing more data than necessary.
It is also designed as a Cardano partner chain, which means it operates as its own blockchain while connecting into the broader Cardano ecosystem. Midnight's architecture allows Cardano stake pool operators to participate in Midnight consensus, helping the network benefit from Cardano's established infrastructure and validator community.
Midnight's genesis block was created on March 17, 2026, with broader public rollout beginning March 30, 2026. The network launched in a federated model, with founding node operators including Google Cloud, MoneyGram, Pairpoint by Vodafone, and eToro securing early stability, with full decentralisation planned for the Mōhalu phase later in 2026.
For developers, Midnight provides tools for building smart contracts and DApps that can verify information using zero-knowledge proofs while keeping sensitive data private. This means developers can create applications where only the required information is disclosed, instead of making every user action or data point fully public by default.
For users, Midnight offers more control over personal and transactional data. Users can choose what information is shared, what stays private, and how they interact with applications that require both trust and confidentiality.
This makes Midnight useful for products that need a balance between transparency, privacy, and compliance identity systems, financial applications, enterprise tools, compliance-focused platforms, and other Web3 products where selective disclosure matters.
What Is NIGHT?
NIGHT is the public, unshielded native utility and governance token of the Midnight Network. Midnight is built as a Cardano partner chain, and NIGHT first launched on Cardano as a Cardano native asset in December 2025, ahead of Midnight's mainnet launch.
Unlike many blockchains where the native token is directly spent as gas, Midnight uses a two-part model: NIGHT and DUST. Holding NIGHT generates DUST, a shielded and non-transferable network resource used to pay for transactions and execute smart contracts on Midnight.
This means getting started with Midnight is not only about buying NIGHT. Users also need to understand the difference between cNIGHT (Cardano-side) and mNIGHT (Midnight-side), which wallets support each, how withdrawals work, and how the Cardano-to-Midnight bridge operates.
Understanding the NIGHT and DUST Dual-Token Model
Before we continue, let's talk about Midnight's economic design. The network separates governance and capital from operational costs using a dual-component model:
- NIGHT (The Capital Asset): This is the native token. Holding NIGHT automatically and continuously generates DUST. NIGHT transactions are fully visible on the public ledger.
- DUST (The Resource): This is a shielded, non-transferable, decaying resource used to pay for transaction fees and execute smart contracts. It functions like a rechargeable battery, consumed during transactions and then regenerated through the holding of NIGHT.
This dual-token model has meaningful consequences:
- Predictable costs: Enterprises and frequent users gain operational cost predictability because DUST continuously replenishes. There is no need to spend down principal NIGHT holdings.
- Smooth user onboarding: Developers can hold NIGHT to generate enough DUST to cover transaction fees for their users, making applications effectively free at the point of interaction.
- Preserved governance: Users spend DUST rather than NIGHT. Participating in the network does not dilute governance rights or long-term ecosystem stake.
- Regulatory clarity: DUST is strictly a consumable resource, not a financial asset. It is non-transferable and cannot be sent between wallets to settle debts or purchase goods. The architecture splits the financial layer (public NIGHT ledger) from the data layer (shielded DUST usage and ZK proofs).
Understanding cNIGHT vs mNIGHT
This is one of the most important distinctions in the current Midnight ecosystem, so it is worth paying attention to.
cNIGHT is NIGHT on the Cardano side. It is a Cardano native asset and lives on a Cardano address (starting with addr1...). Any Cardano-compatible wallet can hold cNIGHT. When you withdraw NIGHT from any exchange today, you receive cNIGHT on a Cardano address, no exchange currently supports withdrawing directly to a Midnight address.
mNIGHT is NIGHT on the Midnight side, after it has been bridged. mNIGHT lives on a Midnight address and is the version that actively generates DUST for paying transaction fees on the Midnight network. Only Lace with Midnight integration can hold mNIGHT, standard Cardano wallets cannot.
The total supply is 24 billion NIGHT across both chains at all times. A protocol-level mechanism ensures any given token can only be active on one chain at a time.
Setting Up a Midnight-Compatible Wallet
The right wallet depends on which version of NIGHT you are working with.
For cNIGHT (Cardano side): Any Cardano wallet works i.e., NuFi, Eternl, Lace, Ledger or Trezor through WalletConnect and others. cNIGHT is a Cardano native asset, so any wallet that supports Cardano native assets can hold it.
For mNIGHT (midnight side, after bridging): You need Lace with Midnight integration. This is the only wallet with native Midnight mainnet support as of May 2026. Install it from lace.io/midnight.
For this tutorial, we will focus on Lace, since it covers both the Cardano and Midnight sides.
Lace is one of the most user-friendly wallets in the Midnight ecosystem. It is built by Input Output Global, the same research and engineering team behind both Cardano and Midnight. Midnight(cNight or mNight) is now accessible directly inside Lace with no separate app required.
Steps to Set Up Your Lace Wallet
Install the Lace browser extension from lace.io/midnight, or download the app through the App Store or Play Store on your mobile device.
Click on Create Wallet.
- Set up your password.
- Choose Cardano as the account you want to activate.
- You now have a Cardano (cNIGHT-compatible) wallet. Write your seed phrase on a paper, not in a password manager, not as a screenshot, and store securely.
- To retrieve your wallet's private and public key, check the Lace app settings. There is also an option to back it up safely to the cloud.
With your Cardano address, you can receive NIGHT tokens from an exchange, friends, or any other source.
The Lace Shielded vs Unshielded Address
Once you bridge cNIGHT to mNIGHT, you will notice that the Midnight side of Lace gives you two addresses, a shielded one and an unshielded one. Think of them this way:
Shielded: only you control what gets revealed; this protects transaction metadata (such as sender, receiver, and input/output values) using zero-knowledge proofs, which allows transactions to be validated without publicly revealing those details.
Unshielded: It works like traditional blockchain, where transactions are public and fully visible on the block explorer.
For bridging, always use your unshielded Midnight address. The bridge will not send tokens to a shielded address. If something looks off when you paste your address into the bridge UI, the first thing to check is whether you grabbed the right address from the Lace app.
How To Acquire NIGHT?
You might be wondering where and how to get NIGHT tokens. NIGHT launched in December 2025 and is now listed across dozens of exchanges, including Binance, Bybit, OKX, KuCoin, Bitpanda, LBank, and more.
Note: Before you can perform any action on centralised exchanges (CEXs), you are required to create an account and complete the necessary KYC verification.
In this tutorial, we will focus on how you can get your first NIGHT tokens through Binance.
How to Buy on Binance with a Card
There are numerous ways to acquire NIGHT tokens through the Binance app, including buying from other Binance users, Apple Pay or Google Pay, using your available balance (USDT or other tokens), paying with a card, or peer-to-peer trading (P2P).
Here is how to buy with a card:
- Open your Binance app, go to Assets on the bottom right of your screen, then click on Add Funds.
- Click on Buy with USD.
- Search for the NIGHT token. Note that you can only buy a minimum of $15 with a card. Add your card as the payment option.
- Your screen should look like this. Go ahead and authorise the payment.
You are now holding NIGHT tokens in your Binance wallet. You can now choose to send them to the non-custodial wallet you created earlier with Lace, or share them with friends and family.
Withdrawing from Binance to Your Cardano Wallet
Once you have purchased NIGHT on Binance, withdraw it to your Cardano address in Lace or your preferred Cardano wallet.
Step-by-step:
- In your Binance account, navigate to Assets, then click on Send.
- Click on Withdraw Crypto.
- Select NIGHT as the asset.
This screen will appear:
Paste your Cardano address (starts with
addr1...) from Lace.Choose the ADA Cardano network. Do not choose ERC-20 or BEP-20, as selecting the wrong network risks permanent loss of funds.
Enter the amount and confirm the withdrawal. Wait for the transaction to confirm on the Cardano network, which typically takes 5 to 10 minutes.
After the withdrawal is successful, cNIGHT will appear in your Lace Cardano wallet alongside any ADA you hold. You have cNIGHT. If you want mNIGHT, the version that generates DUST on Midnight, you will need to bridge.
Bridging from Cardano to Midnight: cNIGHT to mNIGHT
The Cardano-to-Midnight bridge is live as of 2026 and is built on the MIP-20 specification (github.com/midnightntwrk/midnight-improvement-proposals/issues/20). Here is how it works:
One Token, Two Chains
NIGHT is not two separate tokens. It is a single multi-chain asset. When 24 billion NIGHT tokens were minted on Cardano in December 2025, that was the first embodiment of the token, since the Midnight mainnet did not exist yet. When the Midnight genesis block was created on March 17, 2026, the full supply was simultaneously mirrored onto the Midnight ledger. The tokens did not travel from one chain to the other; a parallel representation was instantiated on Midnight at genesis.
To prevent double-spending, a protocol-level mechanism ensures any given token can only be active on one chain at a time. Think of it less like a bridge and more like a switch, flipping a token's active state from Cardano to Midnight while keeping the total supply locked at 24 billion across both chains at all times.
How the Bridge Works
You initiate a transfer through a supported wallet (Lace) or DApp.
You paste your unshielded Midnight address as the destination, not the shielded one.
A Cardano Plutus smart contract locks your cNIGHT on the Cardano side. You pay a standard Cardano network fee (approximately 0.2 to 0.5 ADA depending on conditions). There is no additional bridge fee.
The Midnight network's observation layer watches Cardano and waits roughly 12 hours for the lock transaction to become effectively irreversible. This delay is intentional, it is the price of trustlessness, not a congestion issue. In practice, plan for 12 to 16 hours; some users have reported waits closer to 24 hours, so do not panic before then.
After finality, your mNIGHT becomes available in your Midnight unshielded balance. You submit a claim transaction to move it into your active balance.
Important: The Bridge Is One-Way
The MIP-20 bridge only goes from Cardano to Midnight. There is no reverse path for moving mNIGHT back to cNIGHT in the current implementation. If you bridge, you are on Midnight until third-party bridges or a reverse bridge proposal ships. Keep cNIGHT in your Cardano wallet if you want optionality.
A note on wrapped-token workarounds: a synthetic bridged version of NIGHT does not generate DUST, since DUST is tied to the canonical token. Do not use third-party wrapped versions as a substitute for the protocol bridge if DUST generation is your goal.
What Doesn't Exist Yet
As of May 2026, several pieces of infrastructure are still in development.
The DUST Capacity Exchange, which would allow users to buy and sell DUST generation capacity as a marketplace, is planned for the Mōhalu phase and is not yet live. Validator staking rewards for SPOs and NIGHT holders are also a Mōhalu feature and are not live at launch. On-chain governance, where NIGHT holders can submit proposals and vote on protocol changes, is not yet active; the network is still operating in a federated state. Finally, Hybrid DApps that would extend Midnight's privacy layer across Ethereum, Solana, and other ecosystems are part of the Hua phase and the furthest out on the roadmap.
What's Coming
The Mōhalu phase is expected around mid-2026, bringing full SPO onboarding, staking rewards for validators and NIGHT holders; the DUST Capacity Exchange; and the first iteration of on-chain governance, which lets NIGHT holders submit proposals, manage the Treasury, and vote on protocol upgrades.
Further out, the Hua phase targets late 2026 and beyond, introducing hybrid DApps that embed Midnight's privacy layer into applications on other chains. That is when Midnight stops being a standalone blockchain and starts functioning as privacy infrastructure for the broader Web3 ecosystem.
For more information and to stay updated on future Midnight Network developments, you can:
- Follow Midnight on Twitter
- Join the Discord community
- Read the official documentation
- Visit the Developer Forum