Midnight mainnet upgrades to Ledger 9 with new signatures and DeFi features
Midnight's mainnet upgraded to Ledger 9 on November 7, adding ECDSA and Keccak-256 signatures for better Bitcoin and Ethereum compatibility. The release enables direct contract execution and transaction logging, while Lace 2.5 allows users to generate DUST directly from Cardano accounts.
Midnight’s mainnet upgraded directly to Ledger 9 on November 7, bypassing the usual testnet phase for a controlled security release. This move introduces ECDSA, Keccak-256, and Schnorr signatures, which improve compatibility with Bitcoin and Ethereum infrastructure. Smart contracts now gain direct contract-to-contract execution and transaction event logging, enabling more complex DeFi operations. The direct deployment underscores confidence in the codebase, though it carries execution risk if undiscovered bugs emerge. Developers can now build privacy-preserving applications with significantly lower barriers, potentially driving network usage and DUST demand.
Protocol and Wallet Updates
The consensus team advanced Leios on the main development branch by adding endorser block production, certificate checks during chain selection, and vote relaying. These changes remain development work, not a mainnet release. The team released Leios prototype rc-2026w44 with adaptive endorsements, which reduce endorser block sizes when votes are insufficient. An earlier build, rc-2026w43, cut certifying-block forging time from up to 0.9 seconds to milliseconds. Ouroboros-consensus version 5.3.0.0 also reduced memory use during ledger snapshot writes. On the user side, Lace 2.5 launched for the browser extension on October 30. It allows users to designate cNIGHT held in Cardano accounts to Midnight addresses to generate DUST directly within the wallet. ADA transactions became smoother because eligible staking rewards are automatically included when needed. Users can reset wallet sync at the individual account level to refresh transaction history and token information.
| Component | Update Detail |
|---|---|
| Ledger 9 | Direct mainnet upgrade; adds ECDSA, Keccak-256, Schnorr signatures |
| Leios rc-2026w44 | Adaptive endorsements reduce block size when votes are low |
| Lace 2.5 | Generates DUST from cNIGHT; auto-includes staking rewards |
| MIP-0024 | Proposes NIGHT rewards for SPOs; participation opens Q1 2027 |
The proposal MIP-0024 would distribute NIGHT block-production rewards directly to Cardano stake pool operators and their delegators. Participation is slated to open in Q1 2027. This creates a direct incentive for Cardano’s large staking community to acquire and hold the token, potentially locking up supply. Analysts linked this proposal to a 7.5% rise in ADA price over 24 hours on November 5. However, the impact depends on successful implementation and SPO adoption rates next year. Lending protocol Morpho reported a 40% increase in active loans on its real-world asset platform over 90 days. Deposits in its fixed-rate "Morpho Midnight" market grew 500% in the past 30 days. This indicates rising capital allocation to Midnight-based DeFi, although it remains a small segment of the broader landscape. Will the upcoming NIGHT staking mechanism successfully onboard Cardano’s validator community in 2027?
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