Charles Hoskinson is pointing to a much larger institutional opportunity for Midnight as the privacy-focused blockchain approaches a major banking milestone involving Monument Bank. The Cardano founder described the development as only the beginning, saying that assets across the world want “NIGHT Mode,” a reference to Midnight’s native NIGHT token and its ambition to support real-world asset activity.
The immediate focus is a planned £250 million tokenization programme with Monument Bank, a UK-regulated digital lender. The project is designed to bring interest-bearing retail customer deposits onto Midnight, potentially making it one of the more significant examples of a regulated bank using a public blockchain for consumer-facing financial products.
The latest community discussion suggests the launch could happen within days. However, that timing has not yet been independently confirmed by Monument Bank or the Midnight Foundation. The £250 million figure also represents the target for the first phase, not confirmation that the entire amount has already been transferred onto the blockchain.
Monument Bank’s £250 Million Midnight Integration
Monument and the Midnight Foundation announced their partnership in March 2026. Under the plan, customers will be able to hold digital representations of their existing savings deposits on Midnight, with each token corresponding one-to-one with pounds sterling held at the bank. The deposits are intended to remain interest-bearing, redeemable in pounds and protected under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, subject to its applicable limits and conditions.
The initial programme targets up to £250 million in tokenized deposits. Monument said the project would initially serve its mass-affluent customer base, while its broader ambition extends to making investment opportunities such as private equity, commodity funds and structured products more accessible through its banking application.
Related: Charles Hoskinson Says Midnight Could Overtake Cardano as NIGHT Builds Its Own Market Narrative
The rollout encountered delays after Monument struggled to find a suitable cryptocurrency custodian capable of meeting UK regulatory requirements and handling the network’s privacy technology. In September, CoinDesk reported that the bank had found an FCA-approved Canadian custody provider and was targeting a November launch. That delay illustrates the practical challenges of connecting blockchain infrastructure with regulated retail banking.
Midnight’s privacy architecture is central to the arrangement. Its zero-knowledge proof technology is designed to allow transactions and compliance requirements to be verified without making sensitive customer information publicly visible. Monument can retain control over customer data while using blockchain infrastructure for the representation and movement of deposits.
Why the Deal Matters for NIGHT and Midnight
The Monument partnership is structured as a three-stage initiative. After tokenized deposits, the next phase is intended to introduce investment products through the bank’s application. A third phase could enable Lombard-style lending, allowing eligible customers to borrow against their investments rather than sell them to access liquidity.
For Midnight, the opportunity extends beyond the initial £250 million. Monument Technology, an affiliate of the bank, has also discussed making tokenized deposit functionality available to other institutions through its banking-as-a-service infrastructure. If that capability attracts additional banks, Midnight could become part of a wider institutional financial services network.
Hoskinson’s latest statement reflects that broader ambition, but it should not be interpreted as confirmation that global asset issuers are already adopting NIGHT. The Monument agreement is a concrete partnership, while wider institutional demand remains something the network must demonstrate through deployments and measurable activity.
The distinction between Midnight’s network and its NIGHT token also matters for investors. NIGHT is the network’s native utility token, while DUST provides the resource used for transaction capacity. Greater network usage could strengthen the ecosystem’s relevance, but the relationship between institutional deposits, transaction activity and direct demand for NIGHT will depend on the protocol’s economic design and how applications use its resources.
The upcoming Monument rollout could therefore become an important test of Midnight’s institutional proposition. If the bank successfully brings customer deposits on-chain while maintaining privacy, redemption and regulatory protections, it would offer a practical example of blockchain infrastructure operating behind a familiar banking product. For Hoskinson and the Midnight community, that would be a more meaningful milestone than promotional claims about the world’s assets wanting NIGHT Mode.
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