Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson reignited enthusiasm in the blockchain community with a bold speculation regarding the Midnight project. The founder asserted that the project would serve as the catalyst to expand the Cardano DeFi ecosystem by up to tenfold, sparking heated discussion in the cryptocurrency community.
Midnight Set to Boost Cardano DeFi 10x
In a recent live stream, Hoskinson boldly speculated that the privacy-focused sidechain could be the major catalyst to expand the Cardano DeFi ecosystem by 10 times. Interestingly, this comes after concerns from community members that NIGHT is draining liquidity from Cardano’s native token, ADA.
However, Hoskinson kicked against this narrative, emphasizing that Midnight will not eventually become Cardano’s killer. Instead, he argued that the network would enhance Cardano’s DeFi ecosystem. He pinned his bullish outlook on Midnight’s privacy features and cross-chain capabilities.
According to him, investors can easily access Cardano from other chains via Midnight’s privacy and cross-chain features, doing something new and different. Meanwhile, unlike other existing assets in the ecosystem, NIGHT, which is at the center of the Midnight protocol, is designed to work in conjunction with Cardano’s infrastructure to unlock new financial use cases while enhancing user participation and capital efficiency.
This combination could dramatically increase total value locked (TVL), developer activity, and real-world adoption.
Privacy and Developer Incentives at the Core
Meanwhile, Midnight Protocol, which launched its native token on December 9, 2025, integrates advanced privacy features that enable users to transact while concealing sensitive information. With lower fees and quicker transactions, Midnight could make decentralized finance more accessible to everyone.
Further, Midnight also gives its community a voice. Users who hold the NIGHT token can vote on important decisions and suggest improvements to the platform. It offers opportunities like staking and earning rewards, which attract users and liquidity to the network. As more people join, Midnight is becoming an important player in the world of decentralized finance.
NIGHT, on the other hand, is expected to introduce stronger economic incentives for developers and liquidity providers, which could spur the creation of new DeFi applications such as lending markets, decentralized exchanges, and synthetic assets. This combination of privacy and contributory economics underpins the ambitious 10x growth forecast.
Market Reaction: Price and Sentiment
Since its launch and exchange listing on December 9, 2025, NIGHT has experienced a surge in price action and increased trading activity. In the early trading hours, the token experienced sharp surge rising to $0.1189. However, shortly after, it underwent corrections amid profit‑taking and airdrop selling pressure.
Interestingly, in over a week of trading, its market cap surpassed $1 billion, indicating increased investor interest. According to data from CoinMarketCap, NIGHT token now boasts robust liquidity with over $9 billion in 24-hour trading volume. Furthermore, its market cap has now surged past $1.6 billion, with over 6,000 holders. It is currently trading around the $0.10 region, indicating active market interest.
The CoinRemark Team
