XRP News Today: Cardano Proposes XRP Integration for Enhanced DeFi Services

Coin WorldMonday, Jun 16, 2025 4:56 pm ET
2min read

Charles Hoskinson, the founder of Cardano and CEO of Input Output Global, has proposed an innovative plan to integrate XRP, the third-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, into Cardano’s decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem. This integration would be facilitated through Midnight, a privacy-oriented sidechain developed by Input Output Global. Midnight, which is based on Cardano’s extended unspent transaction output (eUTXO) model, supports confidential smart contracts and is designed to enhance privacy in DeFi interactions.

Hoskinson outlined his proposal during a livestream aired in June 2025, where he discussed the creation of a cross-chain bridge between XRP and Midnight. Once this bridge is established, XRP tokens would gain access to a range of Cardano-native DeFi services, including staking, yield farming, lending, and liquidity pools. This development is significant because the XRP Ledger, developed by Ripple Labs, currently lacks native DeFi infrastructure. Unlike Ethereum or Cardano, the XRP Ledger does not support an integrated ecosystem for staking or yield-generating protocols. The proposed bridge to Midnight directly addresses this limitation, offering XRP holders new earning opportunities and enhancing the utility of their tokens beyond the XRP Ledger.

Midnight, which entered the testnet phase in 2024 and is scheduled for mainnet deployment in 2025, is designed to provide secure and private DeFi interactions. Hoskinson emphasized that Midnight’s focus on transaction confidentiality could be a key feature for XRP holders seeking utility beyond the XRP Ledger. This integration would not only benefit XRP users but also deepen Cardano’s multi-chain strategy by bringing another high-volume token into its ecosystem.

In addition to the bridge, Cardano is making further moves to support the XRP community. Hoskinson confirmed that XRP wallets will be eligible for the upcoming Glacier Drop, an airdrop campaign tied to the Midnight ecosystem. Eligible wallets will receive NIGHT and DUST tokens, which are Midnight’s native and utility assets. Furthermore, Cardano’s Lace wallet will soon support XRP, allowing users to hold and swap XRP alongside ADA and other native assets. This development marks a significant step toward multi-chain asset management within the Cardano ecosystem.

Hoskinson also disclosed that discussions are underway regarding the possible integration of Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin. While no official timeline or confirmation has been released, the ongoing conversations signal potential for broader collaboration between Ripple and the Cardano ecosystem. The alignment of XRP with Cardano’s infrastructure represents a rare case of two top-10 blockchain projects bridging functionality, addressing both privacy and utility concerns.

While no official launch date has been given for the XRP-Midnight bridge, the groundwork appears to be advancing with Midnight’s mainnet expected in 2025 and increasing development activity reported in the first quarter of 2025. This proposal positions Midnight as an interoperability layer that could simultaneously address privacy and utility, potentially setting a new standard for cross-chain collaborations in the DeFi space.

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