# Federated Related Articles

Cardano Founder Unveils Midnight Rollout Plan As Mainnet Launch Begins

Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has announced the start of the federated mainnet phase for Midnight, a privacy-focused blockchain. The launch is being conducted gradually with daily operational checkpoints to ensure network stability. Initially, the mainnet is running in a guarded mode with limited transactions and dApp deployments. Federated node operators, including Google Cloud, Telegram, and MoneyGram, are managing the rollout. The first user-facing feature is DUST generation, accessible via Lace wallet. Hoskinson emphasized Midnight's complex architecture, which integrates zero-knowledge proofs and spans both public and private ledgers. Future upgrades will introduce composable contracts, cross-chain intents, and governance features, though full decentralization is expected to take 6–12 months due to the broad distribution of tokens via a "glacier drop."

bitcoinist03/24 11:32