Cardano’s privacy-focused sidechain, Midnight, is finally starting to take shape, and Charles Hoskinson has provided one of his most detailed breakdowns yet of how the rollout will work.
Speaking on the Gokhshtein News Network, he walked through Midnight’s technical roadmap, its phased launch plan, and what he expects the ecosystem to look like over the next year and a half.
With Midnight’s token, NIGHT, now live, the focus is shifting to how the chain will grow, and Hoskinson made it clear this won’t be a rushed deployment.
Jolteon Brings Speed – Lots of It
One of the biggest highlights from the interview is Jolteon, the new consensus protocol powering Midnight.
Hoskinson described it as fast, efficient, and built for real-world scale. Midnight is expected to handle 5,000 transactions per second with sub-second block times, something he stated multiple times as a major step forward for the Cardano ecosystem.
He called Jolteon “pretty good stuff,” noting that the goal isn’t just to show off big numbers. Midnight needs to stay secure, stay stable, and scale without issues, and Jolteon is designed specifically for that balance of speed and safety.
Nine Months of Testing Before Mainnet Goes Live
Hoskinson also confirmed that Midnight will go through a nine-month integration and testing period before reaching full mainnet readiness.
This phase includes constant logging, stress testing, upgrades, and making sure Midnight integrates smoothly into the Cardano ecosystem. It’s a slow-and-steady approach, something Hoskinson believes is necessary for a privacy chain that needs to be rock-solid from day one.
To keep the momentum going, he said Midnight will release new “goodies”, features, tools, and upgrades every one to three months. Each release is intended to attract new partners and provide developers with more incentives to build on Midnight.
From Hilo to Kūkolu: Midnight’s Rollout Shifts Toward dApps and Full Ecosystem Expansion
The rollout officially began with the Hilo phase, which focuses on building liquidity for NIGHT and getting the token listed on exchanges. Several major exchanges like OKX, MEXC, Gate.io, HTX, and Bybit will list NIGHT on December 9 at 10:00 UTC.
Airdrop recipients will receive 25% of their NIGHT tokens immediately, with the remaining 75% released later in three stages. Hoskinson stated that this approach ensures healthy distribution and prevents overwhelming the market in the initial days.
Once liquidity and token distribution stabilize, Midnight will shift its focus to its next priority: decentralized applications. The Kūkolu phase, scheduled for Q1 2026, will allow developers to deploy privacy-focused dApps onto a stable mainnet.
This marks a significant turning point, signifying the ecosystem's transition from infrastructure development to actual usage. Hoskinson anticipates that developers requiring privacy and confidentiality will move quickly once this phase becomes active.
Following this, progress will accelerate. The Mōhalu and Hua phases, planned for Q2 and Q3 2026 respectively, will introduce Midnight’s broader infrastructure, an incentivized testnet, and support for hybrid dApps that combine public and private execution. This stage represents Midnight evolving into a fully developed ecosystem, rather than simply a new sidechain.
How Midnight Shapes Cardano’s Next Chapter
Hoskinson’s plan clearly indicates that Midnight will not launch all at once but will unfold in stages. First, NIGHT will go live, followed by liquidity, then dApps, and finally the deeper infrastructure that expands developers' building capabilities. This is a lengthy but deliberate rollout.
If all proceeds according to plan, Midnight has the potential to become one of the most crucial components of the Cardano ecosystem in 2026 and beyond.