Background
Midnight is the first of Cardano’s upcoming partner chains. Its token will be a Cardano Native Asset ($NIGHT), and its distribution will be divided into multiple phases with a gradual release schedule.
$NIGHT has been allocated to users who held ADA at the Midnight snapshot on June 12, 2025, 00:00 UTC. This includes the ADA in Minswap Liquidity Pools and in the DAO Treasury.
There are three claim phases:
Glacier Drop (60 days - already passed): Holders of unsanctioned blockchain addresses with at least $100 worth of eligible assets (e.g., ADA, BTC, ETH, SOL, XRP, BNB, AVAX, or BAT).
Scavenger Mine (30 days - started October 30th): Participants who complete specified computational tasks.
Lost-and-Found (4 years): Eligible Glacier Drop participants who missed the initial window.
After the scavenger phase, the Midnight mainnet launches, initiating the Redemption period, during which users have 450 days to redeem their tokens via the $NIGHT Claim Portal.
A total of 24 billion $NIGHT tokens will be distributed. Tokens claimed during the Glacier Drop and Scavenger Mine phases will thaw (unlock) gradually over four 25% instalments, spaced 90 days apart.
The first unlock occurs randomly between days 1–90 of the Redemption period, with subsequent thaws occurring every 90 days thereafter.
In contrast, tokens claimed during the Lost-and-Found phase have no unlock delay but must be claimed manually through Midnight smart contracts.
Minswap and $NIGHT
The ADA in Minswap Liquidity Pools and in the DAO Treasury was included in the $NIGHT snapshot. During the glacier drop, Minswap Labs has claimed these tokens on behalf of the Minswap stakeholders, and the amounts are as follows:
Amount from DAO treasury: 1,890,700.00
Amount from liquidity pools: 15,888,536.16
Total: 17,779,236.16
These tokens were earned by Minswap Liquidity Providers and by the Minswap DAO Treasury, which is controlled by $MIN holders, including the Minswap DAO as one of the major liquidity providers on the platform (see here for an overview of DAO Treasury positions).
Their distribution of these tokens should foster an alignment between three main stakeholders:
Minswap Liquidity Providers: their liquidity forms the backbone of the platform and ensures steady trading volume for Minswap. They are rewarded in $MIN tokens in farming, in exchange for their liquidity.
MIN Stakers: who stake $MIN in exchange for returns (in the form of ADA, $MIN, launchbowl tokens, etc.).
DAO Treasury: manages DAO Assets to ensure stability and capital efficiency.
Below, the Minswap Labs team suggests three different options for the $NIGHT airdrop distribution among the three stakeholders. Via this proposal, if it proceeds to an on-chain vote, the distribution of the $NIGHT tokens will be up to $MIN holders to decide.
For all the options below, the Minswap Labs team will coordinate the claim process for each unlock within a 24–48-hour processing window.
The following will also be the voting options should this proposal proceed to an on-chain vote:
Option 1
Minswap Liquidity Providers: 100% of the NIGHT tokens. The NIGHT Tokens will be distributed to LPs as follows: $NIGHT will be claimable to LPs according to a snapshot of their Liquidity position as of June 12, 2025 00:00 UTC as follows:
Option 2
Minswap Liquidity Providers: 90% of the NIGHT tokens. The $NIGHT Tokens will be distributed to LPs the following way: $NIGHT will be added to farming rewards (in addition to $MIN and ADA rewards) and distributed daily for 90 days after each unlock.
DAO Treasury: 10% of the NIGHT Tokens. The $NIGHT tokens will be airdropped to the DAO Treasury Working Group right away after each claim. The DAO treasury Working Group (DAO TWG) will have complete discretion over this allocation.
Option 3
Minswap Liquidity Providers: 40% of the NIGHT tokens. The NIGHT Tokens will be distributed to LPs by adding them in Farming rewards as described in Option 2.
MIN Stakers: 40% of the $NIGHT Tokens. The $NIGHT Tokens will be distributed to $MIN Stakers as follows: $NIGHT tokens will be claimable to stakers immediately after each unthaw, based on their $MIN Position at the time of the unlock
DAO Treasury: 20% of the NIGHT Tokens. The $NIGHT tokens will be airdropped to the DAO Treasury Working Group right away after each claim. The DAO treasury Working Group (DAO TWG) will have complete discretion over this allocation.
Voting Options (to be extracted for the onchain vote)