Cardano’s ADA traded at $0.87 on August 26 after a volatile overnight session that saw the token swing more than 10%. ADA price held the $0.83 support area as traders reacted to founder Charles Hoskinson’s latest AMA session, where he described Midnight as the network’s most important development to date and revealed custody partnerships that could lead to exchange listings.
Hoskinson Escalates Rift With Foundation While Pushing Copper, XRP and Bitcoin Ties
Hoskinson said redemptions for Midnight tokens have surpassed 70,000 addresses, representing around $1.6 billion in ADA. If accurate, the scale would place it among the largest blockchain airdrops in history, comparable to Arbitrum’s 2023 distribution of 601 million tokens. The figures remain issuer-stated, with no independent audit yet confirming the totals.
Midnight, designed around zero-knowledge proofs, aims to balance user privacy with compliance requirements. Hoskinson argued that this model could open Cardano to enterprise adoption and broader developer use cases. He also confirmed a custody partnership with Copper, which enables exchanges already integrated with Copper to support both Midnight and Cardano-native assets. The Midnight Foundation, he added, has more than 100 commercial deals in progress, with announcements expected at Token2049 in Singapore.
Hoskinson said discussions are also underway with Blockchain.com, Bitcoin.com, Brave, and other custodians. Lace, Cardano’s wallet, will integrate XRP support before the end of the year. He further suggested that Bitcoin could be tied into Cardano’s DeFi stack, potentially widening liquidity and appeal.
Hoskinson also talked about his long-running dispute with the Cardano Foundation (CF). Hoskinson accused CF of failing to deploy its resources in support of the ecosystem, contrasting it with Intersect, a governance body he said reflects Cardano’s original vision. He argued that including CF in Midnight’s distribution would risk adversarial influence.
Hoskinson Bets on Fed Cut, CLARITY Act and Hydra Demos to Push ADA Beyond $0.90
Hoskinson said two external catalysts could shape crypto’s near-term path: a potential Federal Reserve rate cut in September and the possible passage of the U.S. Digital Asset Market Clarity Act in October. A rate cut would expand liquidity in risk markets. The CLARITY Act could provide a framework for exchanges to support new assets like Midnight in the U.S.
Beyond policy, Hoskinson pointed to Hydra scaling demonstrations, including a vending machine and ATM prototype that processed Hydra-based transactions. He said the same infrastructure could extend to point-of-sale and NFC systems, framing it as a pathway for Cardano’s real-world payments adoption. He also confirmed plans for an Asia tour with stops in Vietnam, Korea, Japan, and Singapore.
Hoskinson defended ADA’s price performance, noting that it has gained 156% in a year and outperformed Bitcoin in 2025. Still, ADA remains far below its $3 all-time high from 2021. He argued that Midnight, new partnerships, and multi-chain integrations could drive further growth.
From a technical perspective, ADA’s daily Relative Strength Index stood near 49. This showed neutral momentum. Short-term moving averages remained above longer ones, a modest bullish signal. $0.83 is the key support zone, with $0.90 acts as immediate resistance. A break below $0.83 could expose ADA to its June lows. A move above $0.90 may open the path to the $1 mark.
