Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson believes Ripple may need Midnight, Cardano’s privacy-focused sidechain, to unlock the next phase of XRP ecosystem growth. Speaking in a recent conversation with Wendy O, Hoskinson argued that while Ripple has built one of crypto’s strongest payment networks, there is still a major opportunity to expand XRP’s role in DeFi, tokenization, and institutional finance.
According to Hoskinson, crypto’s next phase will focus on privacy, interoperability, and real-world assets. Midnight targets each of these trends.
“We think Ripple is going to be one of our biggest areas of growth,” Hoskinson said.
The most interesting part of Hoskinson’s argument is that he does not view Ripple as a competitor.
Instead, he grouped Ripple alongside companies like Tether, Circle, and Binance as leaders in what he calls the “Web 2.5” economy, blockchain networks that bridge traditional finance and crypto.
Hoskinson noted that Ripple still lacks a native smart contract ecosystem. As a result, XRP holders have limited access to DeFi tools, yield opportunities, and tokenized assets
That is where Midnight could fit in.
“We have Bitcoin DeFi. We’re going to do XRP DeFi,” Hoskinson explained, adding that developers within the Midnight ecosystem are already exploring XRP-related applications.
Beyond XRP itself, Hoskinson sees a much larger opportunity emerging.
He argued that institutions increasingly need privacy, selective disclosure, compliance tools, and real-world asset infrastructure. Rather than forcing companies to migrate to a new blockchain, Midnight is being built to work across existing ecosystems.
According to Hoskinson, blockchain interactions should feel seamless, regardless of whether users are using Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, Cardano, or XRP.
The long-term goal is to create an open system that connects blockchains rather than competing with them.
“Web 2.5 is our friend,” Hoskinson said.
For him, the future is not Ripple versus Cardano. Instead, he sees XRP and Midnight as complementary networks. Ripple provides institutional access, while Midnight offers privacy, DeFi, and tokenization capabilities.
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