Cardano-Ripple collaboration? Hoskinson praises Ripple CTO in recent remarks

Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson recently praised Ripple CTO David Schwartz, commending his leadership and Ripple’s resilience amid ongoing challenges.

During a recent live stream, Hoskinson described Schwartz as ‘super smart’ and ‘really passionate,’ emphasizing his resilience despite Ripple’s ongoing legal battle with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. 

“Dave Schwartz is a great guy. He’s a brilliant guy. It’s a lot of fun being in meetings with him, and I love to hang out with him,” Hoskion said.

He went on to highlight how Ripple, even after facing lawsuits, delistings, and regulatory hurdles, has remained steadfast and continues to push forward.

Ripple has been embroiled in a legal battle with the SEC since December 2020, when the regulator accused the company of conducting an unregistered securities offering by selling XRP (XRP) tokens. 

While Ripple secured a partial victory in July 2023—when a federal judge ruled XRP is not a security when sold on public exchanges—the case remains ongoing, with appeals and unresolved penalties still in play.

However, Hoskinson remains optimistic about Ripple’s future, pointing out that despite being excluded, delisted, sued, and forced to fight even after legal victories, the company remains steadfast.

“They’re still here. They’re still resilient. And they got a bright future because of it.”

Hoskinson’s recent shift in stance toward Ripple, marked by a public apology to the XRP community on Nov. 10, has signaled a turning point in his relationship with Ripple and its advocates.

Hoskinson has confirmed meeting Schwartz along with Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse to discuss potential synergies between the two ecosystems, fuelling speculations regarding a potential collaboration.

Subsequently, in a Dec. 8 interview, the Cardano founder revealed that the conversation explored potential collaboration opportunities between the Cardano and XRP ecosystems, with a focus on Cardano’s privacy-centric sidechain, Midnight, and its smart contract toolkit, Marlowe.

Hoskinson hopes to ‘include XRP into the Midnight story’ and believes the cryptocurrency is a better fit for Marlowe than ADA, the Cardano blockchain’s native token.

He has also floated the idea of integrating Ripple’s upcoming RLUSD stablecoin into the Cardano blockchain.