Midnight’s NIGHT token rises 27% after mainnet change
Midnight’s NIGHT token rose 27% in 24 hours after its mainnet allowed permissionless smart contract deployment. It reached $0.053 on Oct. 3.
NIGHT reached an intraday high of $0.053 on Oct. 3 before trading near $0.050. Its market capitalization was about $833 million, according to market data. The token has gained roughly 159% since the start of September.
The mainnet change removed a mandatory security review for contracts previously deployed through Midnight’s Preprod testing environment. Developers can now deploy smart contracts directly to the mainnet, and applications can deploy contracts for their users.
Midnight has operated since March 2026. The permissionless system is intended to simplify access for developers and people who do not regularly use cryptocurrency applications.
The network uses zero-knowledge proofs. The technology lets an application verify specific information without revealing the data behind it. For example, an application could confirm that a user meets payment or compliance requirements without disclosing income, account balances or medical records.
Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson added to online discussion of the token’s rise with a reference to a “private pub/sub protocol called Midnight Express.” The comment was a joke and did not announce a new product or technical change.
Wallet provider Gero released version 2.7.1 around the mainnet change, adding Midnight support for shielded balances and sponsored transaction fees. Google Cloud added a Midnight testnet faucet to its Web3 portal, giving developers access to test tokens.
Ura Finance began testing fee sponsorship for applications. Thirty-seven developers completed a cross-chain development sprint with VIA Labs focused on private invoicing tools using USDM. OpenZeppelin, which is developing Midnight’s smart contract library, separately entered an acquisition agreement with S&P Global.
Market commentator David Gokhshtein compared NIGHT’s potential full-cycle performance with that of Zcash’s ZEC. He cited payroll, lending and health care as possible use cases. Those applications depend on further development and adoption.
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