- Cardano founder highlights massive participation across eight blockchains
- Ledger wallet users face claiming issues due to firmware limitations
- Cardano team developing workaround for 251-byte payload signing problem
Charles Hoskinson has celebrated the strong participation in Midnight’s Glacier Drop airdrop, with 11,000 redemptions claiming 250 million NIGHT tokens since launch.
The Cardano founder expressed amazement at the user engagement across eight supported blockchains including Cardano and XRPL.
The participation numbers indicate at least 11,000 unique addresses have successfully claimed their token allocations during the first phase of Midnight’s airdrop program.
Users have shared positive experiences on social media, with many confirming smooth claiming processes for their NIGHT token distributions.
Ledger Hardware Wallet Users Experience Technical Barriers
Eligible Cardano community members using Ledger hardware wallets continue facing difficulties claiming their NIGHT tokens due to technical limitations.
The Midnight Foundation team and Hoskinson have identified the root cause as Ledger’s implementation of CIP-8 message signing protocols.
Ledger’s current firmware supports message signing of only 31 bytes, while the Glacier Drop requires approximately 251 bytes for payload processing. This substantial difference creates incompatibility issues that prevent Ledger users from completing their token claims.
Hoskinson confirmed the Cardano team reached out to Ledger last month requesting firmware updates to accommodate the larger payload requirements.
The hardware wallet manufacturer has not provided a timeline for implementing the necessary changes to support Midnight’s claiming process.
Cardano Team Develops Alternative Solution
The Cardano development team is creating a workaround solution to enable eligible users with Ledger wallets to claim their NIGHT allocations. Hoskinson described this fix as a “hack” that will bypass current firmware limitations while maintaining security standards.
Affected users are advised to return toward the end of August to attempt claiming their tokens using the updated system. This timeline allows the development team to implement and test the alternative claiming mechanism before deployment.
The Glacier Drop remains active for two months, closing on October 4 at 13:00 UTC, providing adequate time for the Ledger compatibility fix. Users who successfully claim tokens will receive them gradually during a 12-month redemption period with batch unlocking schedules.
The second phase, called Scavenger Mine, will commence immediately after Glacier Drop conclusion and operate for 30 days. This phase distributes NIGHT tokens as rewards for users completing computational tasks within the Midnight ecosystem.
A third phase named Lost-and-Found allows eligible Glacier Drop participants to claim reduced allocations after Midnight’s mainnet launch. This final claiming window remains open for over four years, with unclaimed tokens eventually allocated to the Midnight treasury.
