Ripple CTO makes rare statement: publicly acknowledges Midnight, and the collaboration potential between Cardano and XRP is amplified 100 times

Ripple Chief Technology Officer David “JoelKatz” Schwartz recently publicly acknowledged the privacy sidechain project Midnight in the Cardano ecosystem, sparking significant market attention on the potential collaboration between Cardano and Ripple ecosystems. This statement is seen as an important signal in the cross-chain camp, especially in the context of the accelerated progress of real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, making its significance even more prominent.

Midnight is a privacy-oriented sidechain launched by Cardano. Since its native token NIGHT went live in early December last year, it has maintained a relatively low profile. However, Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has repeatedly emphasized Midnight’s strategic position in future Web3 infrastructure, gradually making it a market focus. Hoskinson believes that under the trend of continuous RWA tokenization expansion, the scale that Midnight and XRP can support has far exceeded that of traditional financial systems, potentially reaching 100 times the magnitude.

The direct trigger for the event came from a discussion by an XRP community supporter on social media, who cited Hoskinson’s views and compared the progress of Midnight, XRP, and traditional institutions in the field of tokenization. During the discussion, a community member directly called on Schwartz to comment on Midnight. Surprisingly, Ripple CTO responded within about one minute, saying, “I hereby acknowledge the Midnight project.” This brief but clear statement was seen as Ripple’s top executives’ first positive affirmation of Midnight’s potential.

Subsequently, Hoskinson quickly joined the interaction and responded to Schwartz in a relaxed tone, further igniting enthusiasm within the Cardano and XRP communities. The public interaction between the two is interpreted as a sign of easing relations and even potential collaboration between the two ecosystems. Previously, Hoskinson had stated that Midnight has the potential to become a DeFi privacy layer in the XRP ecosystem. This idea has now been revisited by the market due to Ripple CTO’s public recognition.

From an industry perspective, Cardano’s privacy computing capabilities and XRP’s advantages in cross-border payments and institutional adoption indeed have complementary space. Even well-known US crypto lawyer John E. Deaton commented that the interaction between the two tech leaders symbolizes rationality and cooperation, a positive signal for the industry’s move into a new phase.

Overall, Ripple CTO’s recognition of Midnight not only increases the market attention on the Midnight project but also opens up new possibilities for future cooperation between Cardano and XRP in RWA, DeFi, and cross-chain privacy fields. As 2025 approaches, this potential alliance trend may become one of the important narratives worth continuous follow-up in the crypto market.