Midnight Taps Fireblocks to Offer Institutional Custody for Cardano-Native $NIGHT

The Midnight Foundation has teamed up with Fireblocks to expand institutional access to the privacy-first Midnight network, the organisations announced on Tuesday. Under the integration, Fireblocks, a major enterprise platform for secure digital-asset custody and settlement, will enable its institutional clients to claim, store and manage $NIGHT, Midnight’s utility token, which is launching as a Cardano native asset.

The collaboration comes as Midnight opens the first phase of its much-anticipated “Glacier Drop,” a multi-stage airdrop that will distribute 100% of the network’s token supply across eligible participants from eight leading blockchain ecosystems. The Glacier Drop portal has already gone live, allowing qualifying wallets from ecosystems including Cardano, Ethereum and Bitcoin to claim allocations during the initial window.

Fireblocks’ involvement is aimed squarely at institutional on-ramps. The platform, widely used by exchanges, custodians, banks and trading desks for secure custody, wallet-as-a-service and payments, will support secure claiming and custody workflows. As a result, Fireblocks’ clients can participate in the Glacier Drop without exposing private keys or operational processes to unnecessary risk. Midnight said those capabilities will make it easier for larger, compliance-oriented organisations to engage with the network.

Expanding Access to Privacy-Focused Web3

Midnight positions itself as a privacy-first layer that uses zero-knowledge proofs and selective disclosure to let developers build dApps that keep transactions and contract data private while remaining auditable when required. That architecture, the foundation says, enables “rational privacy,” balancing user confidentiality with the needs of compliance and real-world utility. By combining such privacy-focused infrastructure with institutional custody, Midnight aims to shorten the distance between traditional financial institutions and privacy-preserving Web3 services.

“Supporting the Glacier Drop aligns with our mission to enable secure institutional participation in emerging blockchain ecosystems,” said Ezra Solomon, Senior Manager of Corporate Strategy at Fireblocks. “We believe in Midnight’s vision and are proud to align on enabling a more secure and privacy-preserving future for blockchain.”

“This collaboration marks a major step forward in scaling institutional access to privacy-preserving infrastructure,” said Fahmi Syed, President of the Midnight Foundation. “Fireblocks’ global reputation, technical capabilities, and trusted custody infrastructure make them an ideal partner to help deliver rational privacy at scale.”

The pairing is notable because custody and institutional participation have been two of the biggest hurdles for privacy-centric projects seeking mainstream adoption. For Midnight, the presence of a recognized custody provider could help reassure enterprise partners and regulated entities that cryptographic privacy features won’t come at the cost of operational or compliance controls. Early market reaction to the Glacier Drop has already stirred activity across Cardano and other ecosystems as holders rush to check eligibility and claim tokens.

While the Glacier Drop proceeds through its multi-phase rollout, Midnight and its custody partners will face the twin tests of smooth technical execution and robust safeguards against abuse, goals the foundation has highlighted in its tokenomics and distribution papers. If successful, the collaboration with Fireblocks could become a template for how privacy-first chains onboard institutional liquidity while preserving selective-disclosure privacy guarantees.