2024-2025
Glacier Drop
A multi-phase token distribution platform spanning 8 blockchains, distributing over 4.5 billion NIGHT tokens to more than 8 million eligible wallets. We rebuilt the claiming flow twice, each time the constraints pushed us toward something simpler and more resilient than what we'd originally planned.
Overview
Glacier Drop is the official claim and redemption portal for Midnight's NIGHT token distribution it was one of the largest token distribution events in blockchain history. I built the claim portal and redemption interface, guiding participants through verifying eligibility, connecting and signing with their existing wallets, and claiming a NIGHT allocation to a Cardano destination address. The platform spans eight major blockchain ecosystems: Cardano, Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, XRP Ledger, BNB Chain, Avalanche, and Brave. Each with different wallet standards and signing methods. By close, more than 4.5 billion NIGHT tokens had been distributed across 8 million eligible wallets, across three phases: the initial Glacier Drop claim, the Scavenger Mine, and the final Redemption period.
Problem
Distributing tokens fairly across eight blockchain ecosystems meant dealing with fundamentally different wallet standards, signing protocols, and eligibility rules, all within a single cohesive interface. The scope was a moving target throughout implementation, the list of supported wallets and ecosystems expanded continuously as the project progressed, requiring the architecture to stay flexible enough to absorb new integrations without destabilising what was already built. Participants needed a seamless experience regardless of which chain they came from, while the backend had to handle millions of concurrent eligibility checks without failure. Not all users had compatible wallet software, so the platform also needed to accommodate those who couldn't connect programmatically.
Approach
Built a multi-step claim flow that abstracts the complexity of each chain behind a consistent UI: connect, verify, sign, claim. Each blockchain integration was handled as a separate module with its own signing logic, keeping the core flow clean and chain-agnostic. Reown AppKit was used for handling wallet connectivity across supported networks, abstracting much of the per-chain connection complexity and keeping the integration surface manageable as the number of supported ecosystems grew. Drawing on prior experience with the library, I resolved several implementation issues during integration and identified and reported bugs on the SDK side, contributions that fed back into the broader tooling ecosystem. For participants without compatible wallet software, a manual flow allowed users to input their address and signature data directly, ensuring no eligible participant was locked out due to tooling limitations. The redemption portal was built to handle bulk processing at scale, with API access for participants managing large numbers of claims.
Outcome
Over 4.5 billion NIGHT tokens distributed to more than 8 million wallets across three phases: Glacier Drop, Scavenger Mine, and Redemption. The dual connect and manual flow ensured maximum accessibility across a technically diverse participant base. One of the largest token distribution events in blockchain history, completed without a critical failure in the claim portal.
