Cardano Founder and Former Ripple Exec Jed McCaleb Spark Speculation as ADA Eyes New ATH

• Cardano founder recently engaged with Ripple executives and the XRP community to discuss the integration of Cardano’s privacy-focused Midnight sidechain with Ripple’s ecosystem.
• The native ADA token has surged over 8% to $0.8119, nearing an eight-month high amid increased whale activity.

Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has sparked conversations about a possible collaboration with Jed McCaleb, co-founder of Ripple and creator of Stellar. He recently came public on X to reveal the rendezvous that generated significant traction within the crypto community.

Cardano & Stellar To Collaborate?

According to Hoskinson, the meeting was positive and McCaleb confirmed the encounter shortly after. Currently, neither executive could provide concrete details about the encounter. Hence, speculations about whether there is a partnership between the two largest blockchains Cardano and Stellar have gained momentum.

Hoskinson’s meeting with McCaleb is only the latest in a string of engagements with key people in the space of cryptocurrency, especially those related to Ripple. This came after Hoskinson had apologized to the XRP community, ending long-standing hostility.

After the apology, Hoskinson hinted at further collaborations. This included the exploration of how the Cardano sidechain known as Midnight could be integrated with the XRP ecosystem and Ripple’s stablecoin initiative. Hoskinson also revealed that there were recent meetings with Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and CTO David Schwartz.

They apparently discussing Midnight and XRP from a purely technical perspective. While this establishes that Cardano met with McCaleb, speculation has now emerged that they might join in the new ventures together. One of the leading XRP community members is XRP DROPZ who commented, insisting major things are in motion with these industry leaders.

Jed McCaleb, who was instrumental in the founding of Ripple, left the company in 2013 as a result of disagreements with other leaders. Two years after leaving Ripple, he co-founded the Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) to launch a blockchain solution specifically designed for cross-border payments.

Stellar is focused on a seamless payment network, on which Ripple and the platforms are independently focused. Collaboration with Cardano can mean a change toward coordinating efforts with major blockchain pain points.

About Midnight Venture and ADA Price Action

Meanwhile, Cardano’s Midnight, a privacy-oriented sidechain launched in 2022, is the core engagement that Hoskinson maintains with other blockchain leaders. Midnight balances privacy and regulation using the advanced technologies of zk-SNARKs, reported CNF.

Midnight allows smart private contracts and secure transactions thus solving the problem of privacy within the cryptocurrency space. Moreover, Hoskinson has promised to integrate Midnight with leading ecosystems like Ripple and possibly Stellar. The sidechain is currently in beta testing, and its mainnet launch is expected in the near future.

Additionally, Hoskinson also appreciated a milestone by Midnight sidechain for its first zero-knowledge application (zkApp), per the CNF report.

Whilst, Cardano’s ADA token has seen considerable market action. Crypto analytics firm Sentiment reported that ADA is approaching its eight-month high both in terms of USD valuation and BTC pairing. “The last time we saw this level of ADA transaction and whale volume was in June, just prior to a +26% burst in the ADA/BTC pairing,” Santiment noted.

Courtesy: Santiment

The current ADA price action suggests a potential breakout based on increased whale transactions and growing market interest. As per the CNF report, analysts are predicting a new all-time high for Cardano. Moreover, ongoing speculations about Cardano’s partnerships and its Midnight initiative could push ADA further. At press time, Cardano price saw an impeccable rally of 8.26%, reaching $0.8119 on Wednesday, November 20.