Midnight Foundation announced that its network became operational on March 29, following the creation of the genesis block on March 17. According to NS3.AI, this launch marks Cardano's initial foray into testing Charles Hoskinson's assertion that blockchains require integrated privacy and compliance features to engage with regulated finance sectors. Cardano embarks on this trial with a market capitalization exceeding $9.1 billion. Data from DefiLlama indicates approximately $134 million in total value locked (TVL), around $47 million in stablecoins, and daily chain fees of less than $2,000.