Cardano has introduced a new side chain that has been a source of fresh controversy between the Cardano and Monero communities. Called Midnight (with native token DUST), the data protection-focused layer 2 protocol is set to increase the value of the Cardano ecosystem.
Charles Hoskinson, founder of developers Cardano Input Output Global (IOG), announced the secondary chain during IO Scotfest, an event organized by IOG and the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.
Hoskinson explained that Midnight will be backed by zero-knowledge technology and will have features that go beyond privacy-coin projects like Monero (quotation XMR) and ZCash (quotation ZEC).
Essentially, Midnight will deliver “zero-knowledge proof smart contracts” on Cardano using a programming language that the developers are already very familiar with. It will also allow users to choose whether to fully preserve privacy or allow some level of access to their data, unlike current privacy coins where everything is anonymous by default. Hoskinson said:
Midnight has evolved privacy coin technology where everything is anonymous by default, like Zcash and Monero have done with Snarks and ring signatures,
The announcement also mentions that stakers on the Cardano network will automatically earn DUST tokens on top of their ADA rewards at the launch of Midnight. According to popular Cardano social media influencer, “ADA whale,” this setup will give a major boost to the Cardano ecosystem and the ADA market.
Midnight is already being compared to Monero (XMR)
Details of the Midnight blockchain have already sparked critical comparisons from one of the community's largest Twitter accounts for Monero, arguably the most popular privacy coin in the cryptocurrency market.
The Twitter account dubbed the claim that Midnight has a "back door" that regulators and auditors can use a major IOG failure. In response, Charles Hoskinson and other members of the Cardano community have debunked the allegation by saying that the protocol will only give developers the tools to use to allow users to choose whether or not to maintain their privacy.
This is the idea, because each DApp has a different concept of disclosure. It would make no sense to do this at the protocol level. One would have to pick a normative winner and launch the protocol with him. I'm sorry, but I'm not one of those who eat grasshoppers for lunch,
The account retracted its claims after admitting it likely misunderstood the ad. However, he continued to refer to the IOG research paper which includes an excerpt of a Cardano privacy token with a backdoor.
