Hoskinson hints at a "never thought I'd make this deal" Midnight pact in Japan 🇯🇵

Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson said a new partnership for Midnight, Cardano's privacy-focused blockchain, has already been secured in Japan, with details to be announced later. Speaking during a Japan tour update, Hoskinson said the trip centered on meetings with large companies and on introducing Midnight. "Everybody wants privacy right now, and they want a new narrative in the cryptocurrency space," Hoskinson said. He tied the agreement to liquidity for $NIGHT, the token powering the Midnight ecosystem, and declined to name the counterparty. "There's something we did get done for Midnight. It's paired with the liquidity of $NIGHT in Japan. That's real exciting. I never thought I'd make a deal with that particular company," he said.

The comments come alongside a separate expansion in Japan announced by EMURGO, Cardano's commercial arm. EMURGO disclosed a partnership with Japanese fintech firm Slash Vision Labs and crypto platform SecondFi to bring the Cardano Card to the country. Through the arrangement, Japanese users will be able to order the card and spend stablecoins across Japan's payment network, including QR-code systems used in everyday retail. EMURGO CEO Phillip Pon framed the move as a long-standing goal. "Since Cardano's journey began in Japan, we have always wanted our Japanese $ADA holders to be able to do more than just hold and stake," Pon said. The Cardano Foundation confirmed the rollout in a May 18, 2026 post and opened a waitlist for the card.

Midnight, which targets privacy and confidential transactions while aiming to remain compliant with regulations, has been positioned as one of Cardano's flagship upcoming projects. The Japan push adds a corporate and payments layer to that effort, layering a consumer card product on top of the token and partnership work Hoskinson described. He did not provide a timeline for the unnamed Midnight agreement.

$ADA has fallen 32% over the last 30 days, according to market data cited in coverage of the announcements. The Japan partnerships, including the Cardano Card rollout and the undisclosed Midnight counterparty, were disclosed on May 18, 2026.