Cardano’s privacy-focused sidechain, Midnight, continues to make progress according to the most recent “State of the Network” report for March 2025. The update details recent progress, community insights, and new collaborations. While the protocol’s full launch is still a work in progress, the project’s growing ecosystem is already evident through hackathons, partnership announcements, and improved documentation.
What’s Up With Cardano’s Midnight?
The team emphasizes that while a protocol defines rules, the people participating in a network shape it from day to day. Between December 2024 and January 2025, Midnight gathered survey responses illustrating the community’s breadth. Twelve percent of participants identified themselves as blockchain developers, while thirty-nine percent described themselves as “seasoned pros” in blockchain. Forty-six percent rated themselves as “somewhat experienced,” and the remaining fifteen percent are still in the learning phase.
A recent highlight of Midnight’s development was the ZK Identity Challenge, which presented real-world applications of zero-knowledge (ZK) technology. One standout submission came from Brick Towers, a team led by Sergey Kisel and Imants Firsts, who showcased how Midnight’s smart contracts can protect consumer privacy in an online wine sales scenario. When a customer places an order, the transaction request is recorded privately on the blockchain. Instead of uploading identification documents, buyers generate a ZK proof based on their ID, verifying that they meet the legal drinking age without exposing unnecessary personal details.
If verification fails, the user is notified locally without revealing any on-chain data. When the proof is valid, the transaction finalizes, confirming on the ledger that the purchase was made, payment was completed, and the buyer satisfied the age requirement through a trusted identity provider. This solution lets merchants comply with regulations for selling age-restricted products without collecting or storing sensitive personal data. The result is a user experience that securely and seamlessly handles identity verification on-chain while preserving privacy.
Moreover, OpenZeppelin, known for securing more than $21 trillion in on-chain value, is now bringing its extensive experience to Midnight. The company is developing a Compact smart contract library, along with frameworks and starter applications tailored for Midnight. This collaboration provides developers with familiar yet robust tools and is expected to accelerate the creation and deployment of privacy-oriented decentralized applications (DApps) on the network.
idnight has also partnered with Zoniqx, which is introducing its enterprise-grade DyCIST (Dynamic Compliant Interoperable Security Token) framework to the sidechain. This…
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