In the world of cryptocurrency, we have heard too many stories of VC dominance and short-term arbitrage.
But the birth of Midnight has taken a completely different path—behind it is an idealist who has bet $200 million of personal funds on this belief.
The protagonist of this story is Charles Hoskinson—one of the co-founders of Ethereum and the creator of Cardano.
From Ethereum to Cardano: An Idealist's Evolution
In 2014, as a co-founder of Ethereum, Hoskinson left due to ideological differences and founded lOG, launching Cardano. While others were crazily issuing tokens, he insisted on taking an academic approach to blockchain—first releasing a white paper, then writing code, and finally going live. This 'slow' approach was once ridiculed, but time has shown that Cardano has become one of the most robust Layer 1s.
The birth of Midnight: When ‘rational privacy’ becomes the answer
In 2022, the Midnight project first surfaced. Hoskinson discovered that previous generations of blockchain had a fundamental flaw: they couldn't keep secrets.
‘Existing public chains are either completely transparent or completely anonymous,’ he said, ‘but real-world needs are never a binary choice.’ What you need is rational privacy—protecting sensitive information while being able to selectively disclose to regulators when necessary.
This idea became the cornerstone of Midnight.
$200 million personal bet: no VC, only faith.
In February 2026, Hoskinson dropped a bombshell: Midnight did not accept any venture capital, and all investment funds came from his own pocket—$200 million in total.
In the crypto industry, this is almost unimaginable; most projects first seek VC funding. But Hoskinson chose a different path: no external pressure, no token concentration issues, the founder all in.
He proves with real money: faith in Midnight is not just talk.
Cross-chain ambitions: not just Cardano
Many mistakenly believe that Midnight is just an accessory to Cardano, but Hoskinson's ambitions go beyond that.
By the end of 2025, he announced an ambitious plan: Midnight will gradually integrate into multiple mainstream public chains such as Cardano, Ethereum, Solana, Avalanche, and Bitcoin.
He believes the future of the crypto industry is not isolated tribal finance, but a unified, interoperable financial market.
Conclusion: When idealists bet their entire fortune
The story of Charles Hoskinson seems somewhat 'out of place' in today's crypto world.
In an industry that pursues quick monetization, he insisted on developing in an academic way; in a VC-led market, he chose to go all in with personal funds; in an era where ‘faster and cheaper’ is the focus, he is dedicated to the seemingly niche track of ‘privacy.’
Hoskinson once said: ‘Deep down, people know that a new generation is beginning. They are just tired of the old models, really tired.’
Midnight is the testing ground for this new paradigm. And Hoskinson, with his own $200 million, has paid for this experiment.
This is not a story about wealth, but a story about faith—faith in truly valuable things that are worth building a lifetime.