Privacy public chain Midnight confirms mainnet launch in March: Cardano ecosystem ushers in a new era of "selective disclosure"

On February 12, 2026, at the Hong Kong Consensus Conference—Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson delivered a major announcement to global developers: after years of development, the privacy-focused public blockchain Midnight will officially launch its federated mainnet in the last week of March.

This news quickly reignited the long-dormant privacy sector. Unlike established privacy coins like Monero and ZCash, Midnight has not chosen a binary privacy model of “all or nothing.” In an interview with CoinDesk, Hoskinson stated, “Privacy isn’t a switch; it’s not simply on or off.”

Core Competitiveness of Midnight

Charles Hoskinson, founder of Cardano, announced that the privacy-focused Midnight blockchain will go live next month. Behind this statement is a sophisticated technical architecture.

Midnight’s core strength lies in “selective disclosure.” It is based on zero-knowledge proof (ZK-proof) technology, allowing users to keep transaction data fully private by default, while enabling disclosure of specific information to authorized parties when necessary (such as for tax audits or compliance reviews). This “programmable privacy” preserves blockchain’s trustless nature while accommodating real-world regulatory requirements.

More notably, Midnight is not targeting existing users of Monero or ZCash. Hoskinson explicitly stated that Midnight aims to serve “billions of ordinary people who don’t yet realize they need privacy.” This product positioning significantly lowers interaction barriers:

• Wallet abstraction: no need to memorize 24-word seed phrases, supports biometric and QR code login
• Post-quantum security: in collaboration with the Linux Foundation, developing the Nightstream universal Layer 2 network using lattice-based cryptography
• Enterprise partnerships: Google and Telegram have confirmed participation in ecosystem development

Additionally, the Midnight City Simulation system will open to the public on February 26. This AI-driven simulation models real-world transaction loads to test Midnight’s capacity to generate and verify ZK proofs at scale. It is viewed as the final “full-scale rehearsal” before mainnet launch.

ADA Market Performance: Short-term Pressure, Long-term Narrative Rebuilding

As the “mother chain” of Midnight, Cardano did not experience significant price fluctuations following the announcement. According to the latest data from Gate’s spot market as of February 12, 2026:

• ADA price today: $0.2633 (up 3.17% in 24 hours)
• 24-hour trading volume: $2,000,000
• Market cap: $9.66 billion (market share 0.48%)
• All-time high: $3.09 / All-time low: $0.01925
• 24-hour range: high $0.2636, low $0.2505

On-chain data shows ADA’s circulating supply is 36.79 billion, total supply is 45 billion, with a fully diluted market cap of $11.82 billion, covering approximately 81.77% of total supply. Market sentiment is rated as “optimistic.”

Price Forecast

Based on Gate’s integrated model, ADA’s average price in 2026 is projected at $0.2632, with a fluctuation range of approximately $0.2316 to $0.3921. In the long term, if Midnight’s mainnet adoption meets expectations, the potential price center in 2031 could rise to $0.6603, implying an +86.00% upside from current levels.

Ecosystem Collaboration: LayerZero, USDCx, and Cross-Chain Interoperability

Hoskinson also revealed at Consensus that the interoperability protocol LayerZero will soon integrate with Cardano, and USDCx is scheduled to launch on Cardano’s mainnet by the end of February.

This means that after Midnight’s launch, it will seamlessly integrate into a mature ecosystem featuring native stablecoins and cross-chain communication capabilities. Developers can build privacy DApps on Midnight and exchange messages and assets freely with networks like Ethereum and Solana via LayerZero. This “privacy + compliance + interoperability” trifecta is still rare in the current Layer 1/Layer 2 landscape.

For Gate users, the mainnet launch of Midnight signifies potential new asset classes and on-chain interaction scenarios. Gate Web3 has integrated Gate Layer’s high-performance Layer 2 network and Perp DEX, and future collaborations in “compliant privacy DeFi” with the Midnight ecosystem are possible.

Conclusion

Hoskinson likens Midnight to “default privacy protection for billions of ordinary people,” rather than a niche toy for tech enthusiasts. From platforms like Google and Telegram to post-quantum cryptography research, Midnight is building a balanced solution that considers both regulatory friendliness and user sovereignty.

The announcement that Midnight will go live next month is not just a timeline confirmation but could mark a turning point where privacy computing shifts from “geek toy” to “mainstream standard.” For ADA holders, Midnight’s launch may reshape Cardano’s value storage logic; for the broader crypto market, it offers an alternative development path for Layer 2 beyond ZK-Rollups.

In the last week of March, the answer will be revealed.