Cardano’s Hoskinson Talks Midnight Privacy Tech and XRP Growth with Ripple CTO

• A recent post on X revealed Charles Hoskinson and Ripple CTO David Schwartz’s discussion about XRP’s growing significance in the blockchain ecosystem and the advanced privacy technology of Cardano’s sidechain, Midnight.
• Charles Hoskinson discussed his intentions to work with the U.S. government during Donald Trump’s presidency, to promote bipartisan backing for regulations that support blockchain technology.

In a recent exchange that has caught the attention of the blockchain community, Charles Hoskinson, the founder of Cardano, engaged in a dialogue with David Schwartz, the CTO of Ripple. This conversation revolved around two significant topics: Midnight, a cutting-edge privacy-centric blockchain initiative, and XRP, Ripple’s digital asset.

This conversation comes on the heels of Hoskinson’s effort to resolve his long-standing conflict with Ripple and the XRP community. During a recent YouTube livestream, the Cardano founder apologized to XRP supporters, marking a step toward reconciliation.

Charles apologizing to the XRP Community + wants to participate in #RLUSD

Good stuff Charles. pic.twitter.com/0k4qTZyW3D

— Vet (@Vet_X0) November 10, 2024

Key Takeaways from the Discussion

According to a post shared on X, the discussion featured Hoskinson expressing his enthusiasm for Midnight’s advanced privacy technologies. Designed to promote secure data handling while ensuring regulatory compliance, Midnight aims to catalyze the development of privacy-focused decentralized applications (dApps). Furthermore, Hoskinson highlighted how Midnight leverages advanced cryptographic techniques to ensure that users’ information remains confidential while still allowing for interoperability.

It was a pleasure talking to you. Midnight sounds extremely interesting.https://t.co/A9aI64bJsU https://t.co/e1b0feRwcJ

— David "JoelKatz" Schwartz (@JoelKatz) November 18, 2024

The two leaders also explored the use cases for XRP and how it plays a crucial role in enabling swift and effective cross-border payments among banks, governments, and different institutions. Additionally, XRP serves as a bridge between fiat currencies, ensuring adequate liquidity in transactions. 

Adding to this discourse, Hoskinson revealed his ambitions to collaborate with the U.S. government during Donald Trump’s administration to help shape future cryptocurrency legislation. His goal is to cultivate bipartisan support for blockchain-friendly regulations and bring forth clearer guidelines that would benefit the industry. 

The conversation also follows recent discussions between Hoskinson and Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, intensifying speculation about a potential partnership between Cardano and Ripple. Charles believes that this partnership could introduce Cardano’s DeFi tools to XRP, while also utilizing Ripple’s liquidity and stablecoin offerings, including the RLUSD stablecoin, which is anticipated to launch later this year.

Charles Hoskinson held a surprise AMA session discussing the eligibility for the Midnight airdrop, which will introduce a dual-token model with NIGHT and DUST. He confirmed that ADA holders would qualify for the DUST airdrop, referred to as a “glacier drop,”. However, to fully receive their tokens, participants must mine on the Midnight blockchain. 

Nearly a year ago, the founders of Cardano introduced the Midnight sidechain. Subsequently, the Midnight network rolled out its testnet on the Cardano platform, as reported by CNF last month. Recently, Midnight launched its first zkApp, signaling a significant advancement in blockchain privacy. 

Shifting focus to the XRP market, trading activity has increased notably, driven by positive developments surrounding Ripple’s legal outcomes and the potential approval of an XRP ETF. Bitwise’s filing for an ETF in October follows similar applications from Canary Funds and 21Shares.

If a market for XRP spot ETFs emerges, similar to the successes of Bitcoin spot ETFs, it could potentially drive XRP closer to its all-time high of $3.3509 achieved in 2018. Currently, XRP is priced at $1.09 after experiencing a substantial 79% increase in the week ending November 17.