Weiss Ratings Applauds Cardano Team, Supports Midnight’s Long-Term Potential
February 16, 2026
Independent crypto rating agency Weiss Ratings recently commended the Cardano development team for its strong academic background and technical prowess, especially in constructing Midnight. This acknowledgment reinforces Cardano’s reputation as a platform that prioritizes research-backed solutions and formal development methods, despite facing criticism for slow adoption and limited use cases.
Weiss Ratings specifically highlighted the team’s ability to deliver cutting-edge blockchain solutions within the expanding Midnight ecosystem. The agency’s positive evaluation also suggested that Midnight has the potential to be a rare long-term success in an industry where the majority of newly launched crypto projects fail.
The foundation of Cardano lies in its team of world-class researchers, a fact acknowledged by Weiss Ratings in their recent analysis. While Cardano may spark mixed reactions within the crypto community, Weiss emphasized the project’s reliance on top-tier researchers, providing it with a solid academic and technical foundation.
The highly anticipated launch of Midnight as a partner chain on Cardano next month was announced by IOG founder and CEO Charles Hoskinson recently. This development further underscores the potential of Midnight to distinguish itself in a saturated market where most projects struggle to maintain lasting value, as pointed out by Weiss Ratings.
Senior Analyst Juan Villaverde shared his optimistic outlook on Midnight’s long-term prospects during a recent livestream. Despite acknowledging Cardano’s slow progress and limited user adoption, Villaverde highlighted the platform’s advanced core architecture as a key strength. He noted that the research-focused team behind Cardano is now spearheading Midnight, a new layer-one network designed to enable fully private smart contracts using zero-knowledge proofs. According to Villaverde, Midnight provides developers with a platform to apply their academic expertise in a practical and focused manner.
Villaverde outlined the unique features of Midnight that set it apart from other privacy solutions, emphasizing the incorporation of privacy directly into its programming language. This innovative approach allows developers to create private smart contracts without in-depth knowledge of cryptography or zero-knowledge mathematics, lowering the barriers to adoption.
Moreover, Villaverde highlighted Midnight’s distribution model, which promotes broader token access through exchanges, airdrops, and incentives while avoiding dominance by venture capitalists. By offering NIGHT tokens at accessible price points, Midnight may attract a wider range of investors interested in its potential for growth.
Although investments in cryptocurrency are subject to risks, the positive assessment of Midnight’s potential by Weiss Ratings and analysts like Villaverde suggests an optimistic outlook for the project within the rapidly evolving crypto landscape. The synergy between Cardano’s research-driven approach and the innovative features of Midnight position the platform for long-term success in an industry marked by volatility and uncertainty.
