NIGHT Token (Midnight): What It Is, How to Get It, Redemption Dates

NIGHT is the token of the Midnight network. It was minted on Cardano on November 25, 2025 as a native asset with a fixed supply of 24 billion, and it is the thing you hold to generate DUST, the resource that pays Midnight's transaction fees. The free distribution is over; today you get NIGHT by buying it on a Cardano DEX or an exchange that lists it, or by waiting for a remaining redemption instalment if you claimed in 2025.

The facts to verify before you buy

Policy ID	0691b2fecca1ac4f53cb6dfb00b7013e561d1f34403b957cbb5af1fa copy
Asset name	NIGHT (hex 4e49474854)
Fingerprint	asset1wd3llgkhsw6etxf2yca6cgk9ssrpva3wf0pq9a
Total supply	24,000,000,000 NIGHT (6 decimals; one NIGHT = one million STARs)
Minted	November 25, 2025, one mint transaction, no burns (Koios, checked September 5, 2026)
Explorer	CardanoScan

The same rule we give for every token applies: a name proves nothing, a policy ID proves everything. Compare the ID in your wallet with the one above before you swap. Our Minswap guide shows where the policy ID appears on the swap screen.

How the 24 billion was distributed

Midnight gave the whole supply away rather than selling it. The Glacier Drop (claims August to October 2025) allotted NIGHT to holders of eight chains by snapshot balance: Cardano 12 billion, Bitcoin 4.8 billion, XRP Ledger 2.62 billion, Ethereum 2.31 billion, Solana 1.43 billion, BNB 796 million, Avalanche 43 million and BAT 3.2 million. Around 170,000 addresses claimed roughly 3.5 billion NIGHT. The Scavenger Mine (October 30 to November 19, 2025) let anyone earn a further 1 billion with proof-of-work puzzles; more than 8 million addresses joined. Unclaimed tokens (about 252 million) sit in a Lost-and-Found reserve. Figures are from midnight.network's own recaps, checked September 5, 2026.

Redemption: when claimed NIGHT actually arrives

Claimed NIGHT does not land all at once. It is released in four 25% instalments, each 90 days apart, in a process Midnight calls the thaw:

• Instalment 1: from December 10, 2025 (each address got a random start day between then and early March 2026).
• Instalment 2: 90 days after each address's first day, so roughly March 10 to June 7, 2026.
• Instalment 3: June 8 to September 5, 2026.
• Instalment 4 (final): September 6 to December 4, 2026, then a 90-day grace period to about March 4, 2027.

Redemption happens in the official portal linked from midnight.network, with the wallet you claimed with. There is no fee, no "gas token" to buy, and no reason to send NIGHT anywhere to unlock it; a page that asks for either is not the portal.

How to get NIGHT in 2026

1. Set up a Cardano wallet that shows native tokens properly (Lace, Eternl or Vespr) and fund it with ADA. Every Cardano output that carries a token needs a little ADA alongside it, so keep a few ADA spare beyond the amount you plan to swap.
2. Swap ADA for NIGHT on a Cardano DEX. Minswap has a NIGHT-ADA pool and DexHunter routes the same pair across several exchanges (both checked September 5, 2026). Match the policy ID above on the swap screen before you sign; the Minswap walkthrough covers the steps.
3. Or buy on a centralised exchange that lists NIGHT and withdraw to your own wallet. Withdraw to a Cardano address; the exchange decides which network it supports, so read the withdrawal screen.

NIGHT vs DUST, one more time

NIGHT is unshielded and transferable: you can see it, send it and sell it. DUST is shielded and non-transferable: it is generated by NIGHT at up to 5 DUST per NIGHT, takes about a week to fill, and decays over about a week if the NIGHT moves away. Fees are paid in DUST, so using Midnight never forces you to sell NIGHT. NIGHT can also be assigned to generate DUST for any address, which is how apps can sponsor their users' fees. Background on the chain itself is in What is Midnight?.

Nothing here is financial advice. Figures are dated because Cardano moves fast; re-check the linked source before you act on a number.