Worldpay and Bullish have each signed on as federated node operators for Midnight Network, joining ahead of the blockchain’s scheduled mainnet launch this March. The Midnight Foundation confirmed both firms will also build proof of concept applications on the network, not just run infrastructure.
Worldpay, which processes $3.7 trillion in payments annually across more than 175 countries and serves over 6 million merchants, will explore stablecoin settlement rails using USDG, the Global Dollar. The proof of concept targets global merchant networks adopting DeFi-native settlement while holding AML/KYC compliance across both B2B and B2C flows.
ZK-Powered Reserves for Bullish
Bullish takes a different angle. The institutionally focused digital asset platform will build Proof of Reserves on Midnight’s zero-knowledge layer, letting exchanges verify solvency without exposing wallet addresses, counterparties, or transaction histories.
“Don’t trust, verify has been a founding principle of digital asset markets, and Midnight’s zero-knowledge architecture allows us to act on that without compromising confidentiality,” said Chris Tyrer, President of Bullish Exchange. “By building proof of reserves on Midnight’s privacy layer, Bullish can provide cryptographic verification of solvency that satisfies the rigorous standards institutional markets demand, without exposing sensitive underlying data.”
As @midnightexplr noted on X, both firms tackle what the post called the biggest blocker in DeFi — public data exposure. The account outlined how Midnight solves this with zero-knowledge plus selective disclosure, letting parties prove what matters while keeping everything else private.
Selective Disclosure at Protocol Level
Fahmi Syed, President of Midnight Foundation, said both operators bring capabilities that expand what is possible on Midnight from day one. Worldpay addresses compliant stablecoin payments. Bullish covers verifiable reserves. Together, the two proofs of concept take on the single constraint that has most limited institutional participation in DeFi — public visibility of transaction data.
Private stablecoin settlement and verifiable reserves both need selective disclosure. That means proving compliance or solvency without revealing positions, counterparties, or transaction flows. Midnight’s architecture makes these applications viable at the protocol level.
The confirmed operator set now includes MoneyGram, Pairpoint by Vodafone, eToro, Google Cloud, Blockdaemon, AlphaTON Capital on behalf of Telegram, and Shielded Technologies. Worldpay and Bullish join that group ahead of mainnet, with the network set to transition to community-driven block production later in 2026.
Privacy as infrastructure, not a feature. That’s the line Midnight keeps drawing as it moves closer to going live.
