Unlock the Secrets of Cardano’s Glacier Airdrop: Claim Your Tokens Now! 🥳

by

Ah, within the labyrinthine corridors of the Cardano ecosystem, where dreams of digital currency frolic like butterflies in a sunlit meadow, the much-anticipated token distribution of Midnight has finally shed its chrysalis. At precisely 13:00 UTC on the fateful day of August 5, the Midnight Foundation, with all the pomp and circumstance of a royal decree, flung open the gates to the Glacier Drop claim portal. Thus began a 60-day odyssey for eligible addresses across eight ecosystems to seize their share of NIGHT, the native token that promises to illuminate the dark corners of the blockchain.

“The first step toward rational privacy online begins now,” the foundation proclaimed, as if heralding the dawn of a new era. They tantalizingly revealed that “nearly 34 million eligible addresses across eight blockchain ecosystems” could partake in this digital feast via the official portal at claim.midnight.gd. The claim window, they assured us, would remain ajar until 13:00 UTC on October 4, a veritable eternity in the fast-paced world of crypto.

Cardano Glacier Drop Goes Live

“Blown away” by the pace, he exclaimed, “Already 11,000 redemptions for 250,000,000 night!” One can only imagine the confetti raining down in the Midnight headquarters.

Hoskinson, ever the visionary, framed the infrastructure behind Glacier Drop as a technical marvel, a veritable Rubik’s Cube of crypto logistics. “This application is probably the most complex ever built in the history of distributions in crypto,” he mused, detailing the intricate dance of “8 ecosystems… 7 blockchains all with different addresses and crypto, regulatory compliance, auditability, and a huge smart contract.” He added, with a hint of foreboding, that “the millions of claims are flowing first to a Hydra head. The GD is the Hydra application running with Cardano main net.” But fear not, dear reader, for he cautioned that “there will be bugs, UX issues, and some people will have to wait a little bit,” hence the two-month claim phase-a veritable eternity in the crypto realm.

Midnight’s launch post, a veritable tome of excitement, emphasized that Glacier Drop is merely phase one of a grand trilogy, to be followed by Scavenger Mine and a Lost-and-Found period. The foundation, in a fit of generosity, disclosed that eligibility was determined by a pre-announced snapshot across eight ecosystems, including the illustrious Cardano, Bitcoin, XRP, Ethereum, Solana, BNB Chain, Avalanche, and BAT on Ethereum. A veritable buffet of blockchain delights!

The foundation’s breakdown for the Glacier Drop phase allocates a staggering 12 billion NIGHT to Cardano addresses, 4.8 billion to Bitcoin, roughly 2.623 billion to XRPL, 2.3054 billion to Ethereum, 1.4291 billion to Solana, about 796.054 million to BNB Chain, 43.2753 million to Avalanche, and 3.1813 million to BAT on Ethereum. Midnight, ever vigilant, underscores that the only claim URL is claim.midnight.gd and lists its verified X accounts to help users avoid the treacherous waters of impersonators.

How To Claim Your Share

Now, dear reader, let us delve into the mechanics of claiming your share, a process as simple as pie-if pie were made of cryptographic signatures and blockchain addresses. According to the foundation, participants must complete two steps: first, “demonstrate custody” by cryptographically signing a message from the eligible address; second, provide a new, unused Cardano address to receive NIGHT. Midnight assures us that detailed instructions, an eligibility checker, and a set of verified compatible wallets are accessible from the portal, like breadcrumbs leading you through the forest of confusion.

However, not all was smooth sailing on day one. Users of Ledger hardware wallets for ADA encountered an implementation limit in Ledger’s support for Cardano’s CIP-8 message signing. “It apparently only supports signing messages up to 31 bytes whereas the GD payload is 251 bytes,” Hoskinson lamented, describing it as “a Cardano-specific issue with Ledger’s software.” A classic case of “Oops, we did it again!”

Fear not, for the team is deploying a temporary workaround “common in the NFT space” that signs a null transaction carrying the 251-byte payload as metadata. Hoskinson, ever the optimist, stressed that “there is no difference redeeming today or a few weeks from now,” as the claim phase lasts two months. Third-party coverage and Midnight’s own updates echoed the 31-byte versus 251-byte mismatch, noting that Ledger has not yet provided a timeline for an update. A cliffhanger worthy of a soap opera!

Midnight simultaneously warned users against the perils of improvising cryptographic proofs with opaque or hashed messages to “hack” around hardware-wallet limitations. “This method of claiming introduces a potential and significant security risk to the wallet owner,” the foundation cautioned, pointing users to two explainers on signature-based attacks and blind-signing hazards. Those advisories reveal how a single, non-transparent signature can be enough to authorize malicious actions or expose keys. A cautionary tale for the ages!

The foundation’s guidance reduces to three imperatives, as clear as a bell tolling in the night. First, start at the official portal-“the only official URL for the claim portal is claim.midnight.gd”-and verify the handle of any X account you rely on for updates. Second, follow the portal’s process to sign a human-verifiable message proving control of the eligible address and to submit a fresh Cardano destination address for NIGHT. Third, if you’re an ADA holder using Ledger, wait for the supported path to appear in the portal rather than attempting an unsupported signature flow. As Hoskinson sagely advised affected users: “If you are one of the impacted people, then come back towards the end of the month and try again. No one lost their night or place in line.” A reassuring thought, indeed!

Beyond the token logistics, Midnight casts Glacier Drop as a grand experiment in Cardano’s scaling and programmability under the harsh glare of production conditions. Hoskinson boldly declared that the distribution “pushed the bounds of our ecosystem, its technology, and the perception of Cardano as a whole,” highlighting Hydra as the execution layer for intake before on-chain settlement. The foundation, for its part, positions NIGHT as the incentive layer for “rational privacy,” with the claim phase designed for breadth and verifiable inclusion across chains. A noble endeavor, indeed!

At press time, the Cardano (ADA) token traded at $0.72, a number that may evoke a sigh or a cheer, depending on your perspective.

Read More

2025-08-06 13:45