Midnight Crashes 35% After 515M NIGHT Exploit Rocks Wanchain Bridge

The Midnight ecosystem came under intense scrutiny after an unusually large transfer of NIGHT tokens triggered a sharp market sell-off, sending the token’s price tumbling.

According to on-chain analysis, a Wanchain bridge contract originally funded in December 2025 transferred 515.2 million NIGHT, the native token of Cardano’s partner chain Midnight, within just eight minutes. 

Interestingly, the contract also held several other liquid assets, including Mynth, XER, and WMT, yet only the NIGHT tokens were withdrawn. This suggests that the activity specifically targeted the NIGHT asset.

On-Chain Investigation Reveals Transfer Pattern

In an X thread, Cardano community investigator UTxOMaestro revealed that the 515.2 million NIGHT tokens arrived from the Wanchain bridge in four separate transfers, such as 203.0 million NIGHT, 129.6 million NIGHT, 120.4 million NIGHT, and 62.1 million NIGHT. 

All four transfers reached the same wallet between 14:46 UTC and 14:55 UTC on July 20, 2026. The investigation further suggested that Wallet 1 (W1) and Wallet 2 (W2) were likely controlled by the same entity.

According to the analysis, W1 first sent 1,000 ADA to W2 before transferring 200.06 million NIGHT. W2 later returned 100.31 million NIGHT, along with ADA and USDCx, reinforcing the theory that both wallets operated under common control. 

300M NIGHT Sold Across DEXs

After receiving the tokens, W1 immediately began selling NIGHT across decentralized exchanges. Early estimates indicate that W1 sold around 300 million NIGHT, contributing to an initial price decline of nearly 50%.

Subsequent blockchain analysis identified several confirmed swaps, including 217.7 million NIGHT exchanged for approximately 24.02 million ADA, while 87.88 million NIGHT swapped for roughly 1.44 million USDCx.

Although a significant portion of the tokens entered the market, the liquidation remained incomplete. Investigators found that W1 transferred 200 million NIGHT to W2. At the time of analysis, W2 had sold only a small portion of those holdings, leaving a substantial amount of NIGHT unsold and creating the potential for additional selling pressure.

Rather than liquidating all of its holdings, W2 adopted a different strategy. The wallet deposited approximately 68.27 million NIGHT into the Liqwid lending protocol as collateral. It then borrowed roughly 4.364 million ADA against those holdings and transferred the borrowed ADA back to W1.

Midnight Foundation Reacts 

As concerns spread throughout the community, the Midnight Foundation issued an official statement clarifying that the Midnight blockchain itself had not been compromised.

According to the foundation, the incident was isolated to the Wanchain Cardano-BNB bridge, which operates as third-party cross-chain infrastructure.

The organization emphasized that Midnight’s protocol, validator network, consensus mechanism, and core infrastructure continue to function normally and remain secure. Based on current findings, the foundation sees no evidence that the incident has affected the security or operational integrity of the Midnight network.

NIGHT Remains Under Pressure Despite Rebound

The large-scale selling triggered intense volatility across the NIGHT market. Earlier in the day, the token climbed to an intraday high of $0.02689 before plunging to a low of $0.01582 as the wave of on-chain selling intensified.

At press time, NIGHT is down 35.12% over the past 24 hours, currently trading at $0.0174. Notably, its daily volume is up 798% over the past day to $125.96 million. 

Although NIGHT has staged a modest recovery from its lows, analysts caution that the remaining unsold holdings still pose a significant overhang. If those tokens are eventually sold, they could continue to weigh on the token’s price in the near term.