The Midnight Foundation has announced the addition of Blockdaemon and Shielded Technologies as federated node operators for the upcoming Midnight Network mainnet. This expands the initial set of launch partners to four, joining previously announced operators Google Cloud and AlphaTON Capital.
The mainnet is scheduled to go live at the end of March 2026, initiating the 'Kūkolu' federated mainnet phase. The federated model, starting with a small set of operators, is designed to prioritize operational stability at launch. The foundation plans to transition toward a more decentralized, community-driven block production model later in 2026.
Midnight's core technology is built around a 'rational privacy' approach, utilizing zero-knowledge smart contracts and selective disclosure to enable verifiable transactions without exposing sensitive data on a public ledger. This is positioned as a key infrastructure for regulated on-chain markets.
Blockdaemon, a major institutional node infrastructure provider, brings its experience securing over $110 billion in digital assets. Shielded Technologies, described as a core technology partner and spinout from Input Output (IO), brings deep cryptographic expertise. Google Cloud's role includes security monitoring via its Mandiant unit and leveraging Confidential Computing. AlphaTON Capital adds distribution and is tasked with integrating Midnight's privacy layer with Telegram and the TON ecosystem.
Concurrently, the network's governance token, NIGHT, gained market attention following a listing on the regulated Bullish exchange and the operator announcements, with its price rising approximately 18%.
