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Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has praised the launch of the Midnight (NIGHT) token, calling it the strongest debut Cardano has ever achieved.
His remarks come days after NIGHT began trading across multiple major crypto exchanges, including Binance, OKX, and Kraken.
Following the rollout, Hoskinson highlighted the unprecedented level of exchange support, noting that such broad access had never accompanied a Cardano-native token at launch.
NIGHT Sees Multiple Day-One Listings on Major Exchanges
Hoskinson described the event as a historic milestone for the network. For the first time in Cardano’s history, a native product with a $1.5 billion valuation debuted with immediate listings on leading global trading platforms. This underscores the ecosystem’s growing maturity and credibility.
Meanwhile, community members and crypto commentators echoed the significance of NIGHT’s launch. Shortly after going live, NIGHT emerged as the second-most trending cryptocurrency worldwide, signaling a sharp surge in investor interest and trading activity.
On December 14, its trading volume spiked to over $1 billion, while its price jumped 33% over 24 hours.
MARKET: $NIGHT, Cardano Native Token, is currently the #2 trending cryptocurrency in the world.
The price increased 33% in the past 24 hours, with market cap reaching $1.1B+ and trading volume over $1B. pic.twitter.com/8seR8WqEOW
— Cardanians (CRDN) (@Cardanians_io) December 14, 2025
Hoskinson Reacts as NIGHT’s DEX Volume Spikes
In addition to the strong activity on centralized exchanges, NIGHT also recorded impressive on-chain performance.
Data shared by Cardano DRep Jaromir Tesar shows that the token recorded approximately $6.7 million in trading volume over the past 24 hours across Cardano-based decentralized exchanges (DEXs) yesterday.
This development is particularly notable as Cardano’s DEX liquidity has historically trailed that of larger smart contract networks such as Ethereum.
Although the DEX volume remains modest by Ethereum standards, the sudden increase suggests that users are actively trading the token on-chain rather than relying solely on centralized platforms.
Tesar further suggested that the milestone is even more impressive because it occurred over the weekend, a period typically marked by lower liquidity and reduced market activity. Strong volume during off-peak hours often points to sustained demand and heightened investor engagement.
Meanwhile, Hoskinson celebrated this surge in DEX activity, emphasizing that Midnight’s rollout marks the first time Cardano has achieved such considerable decentralized exchange volume immediately after a token launch.
He stressed that NIGHT’s early performance is a clear sign that the ecosystem is moving in the right direction.
Cardano Founder Remains Optimistic About NIGHT
However, Hoskinson acknowledged that the Midnight launch was particularly challenging. He explained that the team had to build much of the supporting infrastructure in parallel with the token’s rollout, making it the most difficult launch Cardano has undertaken so far.
Despite these challenges, Hoskinson remains optimistic that future launches will be far smoother. As previously reported, the Cardano founder believes NIGHT is on track to evolve into a $10 billion ecosystem.
NIGHT Price Action
Following its debut, NIGHT experienced heightened volatility, briefly surging to an all-time high of $1.81, according to CoinMarketCap. However, the token has since undergone a sharp correction, falling to $0.06912, representing a 96.35% decline from its peak. Trading activity has also cooled, with 24-hour volume dropping 52.1% to $534 million.
