The price of Cardano is holding at approximately 0.40 as validators prepare to release rewards in both NIGHT and ADA. The biggest operator owns approximately 10 percent of the entire stake.Â
The present price stands at 0.3977, a 2 percent day movement. The metrics of decentralization have attracted the new attention of market participants. Â
According to Cardanians_io on X, delegators will receive staking rewards in the form of ADA and NIGHT tokens. As the Midnight Mainnet goes live, Cardano stake pools will be capable of validating Midnight blocks, affirming an impending Midnight validator. Â
Cardano $ADA delegators will be able to earn both $ADA and $NIGHT as staking rewards!
When the Midnight Mainnet launches, Cardano stake pools can validate Midnight blocks.
Cardanians will be a Midnight validator. ✅
One $ADA delegation → earn both $ADA + $NIGHT rewards. pic.twitter.com/IyB3eoyinC
— Cardanians (CRDN) (@Cardanians_io) January 16, 2026
Source: Cardanians_io
Power Distribution Defies Industry Norms
According to Jaromir Tesar, the biggest stake-pool operator holds approximately 10% of delegated ADA, a magnitude that is much lower than in competing networks. Independent operators own approximately 90 percent of the stake. Â
No single force can determine network upgrades or fee regulations. They maintain a competitive balance in the validator set with hundreds of pools, such that failure of large pools does not destroy network reliability. Â
Double Reward Stream Activates Soon
The delegations of ADA will generate two sources of income. Delegators continue to receive ADA in Cardano validation whilst also gaining NIGHT tokens in Midnight chain activity. Â
The model does not involve any movement of funds and does not present any extra risk. Delegators present a unified delegation that enables two networks simultaneously, allowing smaller holders to access the ecosystem without extra charges. Â
Midnight builds on the proven security infrastructure of Cardano. The collaboration is based on the existing distribution of stake instead of establishing a form of validator trust, which offers a decentralized basis of cross-chain validation. Â
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Market Headwinds Test Altcoin Resilience
During Q1 2026, Bitcoin dominance heated up. ETF openings and macro uncertainty drove capital into BTC, with the additional global liquidity going to Bitcoin in March, in the first place. Â
Many altcoin projects are characterized by treasury dilution and slow uptake. Powerful technology is yet to be converted into price gains; liquidity and confidence prevail in market value over growth prospects. Â
Recovery to between 0.70 and 0.75 would bring ADA in the range of 1. The 200-day moving average is a key resistance, and the market rotation is still in need of a broader market rotation in order to have sustained altcoin momentum. Â
The decentralization of Cardano provides structural benefits based on two methods of staking. Validator diversity, maintains network security, and rewards expansion opportunities.