What is Midnight?
Midnight is a data protection blockchain platform. It addresses a fundamental challenge in blockchain technology: how to use the benefits of distributed ledgers while maintaining the privacy required for sensitive data.
Unlike traditional blockchains where every transaction is permanently visible to all participants, Midnight introduces selective disclosure - the ability to prove facts about data without revealing the data itself. This enables blockchain adoption in regulated industries like healthcare, finance, and government services where data protection is not just important, but legally required.
Core concepts
Data protection blockchain
Midnight maintains two parallel states:
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Public state: Traditional blockchain data stored on-chain, visible to all network participants. This includes transaction proofs, contract code, and any intentionally public information.
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Private state: Encrypted data stored locally by users, never exposed to the network. This includes personal information, business data, and any sensitive content that must remain confidential.
Zero-knowledge proofs
The bridge between public and private states is zero-knowledge cryptography. Using zk-SNARKs (Zero-Knowledge Succinct Non-Interactive Arguments of Knowledge), Midnight can:
- Verify computations without seeing the input data
- Prove statements are true without revealing why they're true
- Generate compact proofs (128 bytes) regardless of computation complexity
- Validate proofs in milliseconds on-chain
For example, a healthcare application can prove a patient qualifies for treatment without revealing their medical history, or a financial system can verify sufficient account balance without exposing the actual amount.
Compact programming language
Midnight introduces Compact, a domain-specific language based on TypeScript that makes privacy-preserving smart contracts accessible to mainstream developers. Instead of requiring cryptographic expertise, developers write familiar code that automatically compiles to zero-knowledge circuits.
Why Midnight
Regulations require controlled data use
Regulations require controlled data use
Public chains expose too much
Public chains expose too much
Privacy tooling is often inaccessible
Privacy tooling is often inaccessible
Private computation must still be verifiable
Private computation must still be verifiable
How Midnight works
Transaction flow
When a user initiates a transaction on Midnight, the process follows a specific sequence to maintain privacy while ensuring validity. First, users perform computations on their private data locally, never exposing it to the network. The Midnight runtime then generates a zero-knowledge proof of this computation, creating mathematical evidence that the computation was performed correctly without revealing the inputs.
This proof, along with any intended public outputs, is submitted to the blockchain. Network validators verify the proof using the zk-SNARK verification algorithm, which takes only milliseconds despite the complexity of the original computation. Once verified, both public and private states update according to the proven computation - public state on the blockchain and private state in users' local storage.
Network architecture
Midnight operates as a proof-of-stake blockchain. Validators can participate permissionlessly through stake delegation, contributing to network security while earning rewards. The platform maintains a native bridge to Cardano for asset transfers, enabling interoperability between the two chains.
The network processes two types of transactions: standard public transactions that function like traditional blockchain operations, and shielded transactions that use zero-knowledge proofs to maintain privacy. Both transaction types are validated by the same set of validators, ensuring consistent security across the network.
Privacy guarantees
Midnight implements several layers of privacy protection. The system follows data minimization principles, ensuring only essential data goes on-chain while sensitive information remains in local storage. Forward secrecy protects historical data - even if encryption keys are compromised in the future, past transactions remain private.
Users maintain complete control through selective disclosure, choosing precisely what information to reveal and to whom. For regulated entities, Midnight provides optional compliance mechanisms that enable required reporting to authorities without compromising user privacy or exposing data to unauthorized parties.