Night Token Explained: How Midnight Network Uses a Dual-Token System to Protect Data Privacy

What Is Night Token?

Night Token (NIGHT) is a native asset of the Midnight blockchain network, featuring a fixed supply, governance functionality, and built-in incentive mechanisms. Unlike ordinary transaction fuel tokens, NIGHT serves as the foundational pillar of network operations. It powers block rewards, participation in network consensus, and governance processes.

Midnight is a next-generation blockchain network built around data protection, integrating selective disclosure and zero-knowledge proof technologies. Its mission is to safeguard privacy while providing a composable, high-efficiency environment for on-chain application development.

Midnight Network Technical Highlights

Source: https://midnight.network/whitepaper

Midnight leverages zkSNARK-powered zero-knowledge cryptography and a TypeScript-based smart contract framework to significantly reduce barriers for developers. Key features include:

• Protection for both user data and metadata
• Flexible handling of public and private data combinations
• High scalability and cross-chain compatibility (supporting Ethereum, Cardano, and more)
• Developer-friendly programming (TypeScript plus a compact DSL)

This technology stack is attracting strong attention from institutions and builders. They prioritize data sovereignty, regulatory compliance, and the management of sensitive information.

NIGHT and DUST: A Closer Look at Midnight’s Dual-Token Model

Midnight introduces an innovative dual-token system:

• NIGHT: A public token, issued on Cardano, used to reward block producers, power network security, and facilitate governance.
• DUST: A consumable token used for transaction fees. DUST cannot be traded or stored; it functions like “energy” that decays over time.

This architecture keeps user metadata confidential during transactions, while mitigating the compliance risks associated with privacy coins.

Ecosystem Incentives and Participant Benefits

The Midnight ecosystem encompasses developers, block producers, and application operators, with tailored tools and incentive structures for each group:

• Developers can use familiar TypeScript frameworks to build zero-knowledge applications.
• Block producers earn NIGHT by operating network nodes.
• Application operators leverage selective disclosure features and compliance tools to meet business and regulatory requirements.

As an early consensus partner, Cardano supplies robust, battle-tested security infrastructure to support Midnight’s growth.

Night Token: Outlook and Future Value

As demand for privacy-preserving computation and compliant blockchain solutions accelerates, the strategic role of Night Token will only grow. NIGHT is positioned to become a cornerstone incentive asset across enterprise data services, digital identity, and asset tokenization—fueling innovation in Web3 privacy use cases.

Midnight is now in the Devnet stage. The mainnet launch is on the horizon. Broader application scenarios will come online, unlocking the liquidity and value potential of NIGHT.