The Cardano Glacier Drop airdrop, launched by Midnight Network on August 5, 2025, has triggered one of the largest multi-chain token distributions in the crypto sector. Spanning eight ecosystems – Cardano, Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, BNB Chain, Avalanche, XRP Ledger, and Brave – the program distributes 24 billion NIGHT tokens, with half allocated to ADA holders.
The remaining supply includes 20% for BTC holders, with the balance spread across other chains. Eligibility required a minimum $100 holding in native assets on any covered chain as of a June 11 snapshot, a structure intended to encourage broad participation.
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Claim Window Through October 4, 2025 – 25% every 90 days
The claim window for eligible participants began on launch day and will remain open until October 4, 2025. The process demands wallet owners prove asset control through message signing before submitting a new Cardano address for distribution. Centralized exchange wallets are excluded unless their owners control private keys. All NIGHT tokens are subject to a 360-day vesting schedule, releasing in 25% tranches every 90 days.
Any unclaimed tokens transition into a “Scavenger Mine” phase, allowing users to earn them through computational work over four years. After that, a “Lost-and-Found” window offers limited late redemptions. This phased model aims to reduce immediate sell pressure and extend ecosystem involvement over time.
Technical limitations appeared for users with Ledger hardware wallets, which cannot sign the 251-byte payload required. Midnight and Shielded Technologies have been developing a workaround using zero-value transactions to embed claim data in metadata. This fix is undergoing audit and is expected to be active around August 25.
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Strong Early Response Across Chains
Within 24 hours of launch, more than 11,000 wallets had claimed approximately 250 million NIGHT tokens. By the following days, the tally had reached over 470 million tokens claimed by 23,000 wallets across supported networks. Cardano’s share has been particularly large, with holders redeeming 739 million NIGHT – around 3.08% of the entire supply – representing roughly 63% of all distributed tokens so far.
The airdrop’s momentum has fed directly into ADA’s market performance. In the two days after launch, ADA’s value climbed between 3% and 4%, with one measurement placing the rise at 3.89% to $0.819, a 13.6% increase from midweek levels. Other readings showed ADA at $0.7614 after a 3.1% daily gain, with bullish technical forecasts eyeing potential targets above $1 if resistance levels are surpassed.
This boost comes alongside a visible increase in on-chain operations, including new wallet creations, signed messages, and Cardano addresses set up for NIGHT reception. Analysts regard this trend as an organic user influx sparked by tangible incentives rather than speculative hype.
