The crypto industry could be on the verge of witnessing a historic collaboration between Cardano and Ripple, two of the most prominent crypto ecosystems.
Speculation emerged following recent interactions between Cardano’s founder Charles Hoskinson and Ripple’s CTO David Schwartz, signaling a potential partnership centered around Cardano’s privacy-focused sidechain, Midnight.
Midnight, unveiled at ScotFest 2022, seeks to address privacy and compliance challenges. It employs technologies like zero-knowledge proofs (zk-SNARKs) and a next-generation virtual machine, enabling confidential transactions and private smart contracts while maintaining regulatory compatibility.
Hoskinson and Schwartz Hint at Potential Partnership
In a surprise AMA session on Nov. 17, Hoskinson addressed community queries about the potential synergy between Cardano and Ripple. He expressed optimism about integrating Midnight with XRP’s ecosystem.
According to him, such collaboration could bring Cardano’s decentralized finance (DeFi) tools to XRP while leveraging Ripple’s liquidity and stablecoin solutions, such as the RLUSD stablecoin, expected to launch sometime this year.
The ongoing discussions about a potential partnership between Cardano and Ripple gained further traction following a social media post from Charles Hoskinson.
Taking to X, Hoskinson noted his productive discussion with Schwartz about Midnight, discussing its potential within XRP’s ecosystem. Schwartz reciprocated with admiration, describing Midnight as an intriguing project.
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
Interestingly, the discussion around zk-SNARKs (zero-knowledge proofs) emerged as a point of interest during these interactions. Attorney Jeremy Hogan sought clarity on the topic, triggering a response from the Ripple CTO.
The cryptographic concept is crucial to Midnight’s functionality, allowing users to verify data without exposing sensitive details. Schwartz described zkProofs as a way to prove possession of a solution without revealing the solution itself.
Cardano and Ripple’s Healing Relationship
This engagement comes on the heels of a reconciled relationship between the Cardano and XRP communities. A longstanding feud—sparked by Hoskinson’s remarks on Ripple’s legal issues—led to a rift. However, Hoskinson recently apologized to the XRP community, emphasizing unity in the crypto space.
Both ecosystems stand to benefit from this potential alliance. Ripple’s established network of financial institutions and focus on liquidity solutions could complement Cardano’s innovation in privacy and scalability.
Adopting Ripple’s technologies into Midnight might enable enhanced privacy solutions for stablecoins and cross-border transactions. At press time, no official announcement has come up from either front with sufficient details to ascertain the nature of the partnership.
Meanwhile, the development of Midnight is on track, with Hoskinson recently confirming that progress has continued as anticipated following the deployment of the first-ever zkApp on the sidechain. Recall that the development team successfully launched the Midnight testnet early last month.
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