Cardano Founder Reveals Talks to Bring RLUSD to ADA – But There's a Catch

In a recent livestream, Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson gave some rare behind-the-scenes insight into ongoing discussions

Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson provided an update on the possibility of bringing RLUSD (Ripple USD) to the ADA chain, continuing a narrative we've been tracking closely.

While there's interest from both sides and technical proposals exist, it seems a big factor in the decision remains Circle's fate.

As reported by CC News, early talks about integrating RLUSD onto Cardano began last year with proposals from the Cardano team to support the integration for free.

This arose from a desire to bring more stablecoin activity to the ADA ecosystem, in contrast to the ETH chain where numerous stablecoins operate.

However, a key variable is the rumored acquisition of Circle by Ripple, an optimistic scenario that would create a powerful stablecoin entity.

If Ripple acquires Circle, it would completely change the listing strategy for RLUSD, according to Hoskinson.

This scenario, valued at $11 billion, is a major point of discussion between the two teams.

If Circle becomes part of Ripple, RLUSD might no longer land on Cardano, as it would require a different integration path due to the technicalities of the two chains.

The Cardano team has already proposed technical frameworks for integration, with two main options:

Both options have pros and cons. Layer-zero routes offer more interoperability but are technically complex, while direct issuance gives Cardano more natively controlled assets.

Despite not being part of Ripple, Cardano clearly sees the potential in RLUSD, especially when it comes to building out DeFi connections with the XRP ecosystem.

"We're going to need stablecoins if we want to use XRP DeFi in a meaningful way," said Hoskinson.

The tone of cooperation is evident, with Cardano showing interest in supporting XRP-related tools despite the historical rivalry between the two communities.

In April, it was confirmed that Cardano's Lace wallet would soon allow users to store, send, and receive XRP, a step that signaled a shift toward cooperation between the two networks.

Now, with Hoskinson confirming that relations with Ripple have improved, it seems more collaboration may be on the horizon, including technical bridges, wallet integration, and maybe even shared smart contract functionality.

In a recent interview with eToro's Sam North, Hoskinson floated another big idea: using Cardano's Midnight blockchain to support Bitcoin and XRP with a privacy-preserving bridge.

He pointed to a key limitation in both networks: neither the XRP Ledger nor Bitcoin have advanced smart contract features. Midnight, a sidechain designed for confidentiality and programmable logic, could act as the missing link, bringing DeFi and dApp capabilities to two of the oldest and most used blockchains.

"We could take the Midnight chain and connect it to the Bitcoin chain through a minimal verifiable computation proof or a rollup of some sort," said Hoskinson.

"We could also connect to the XRP chain in a similar fashion. This would allow us to bring over smart contracts, decentralized exchanges, yield aggregators, and other DeFi protocols to Bitcoin and XRP."

This integration would be subject to the consent of both Bitcoin and XRP communities, ensuring a collaborative effort.

"We're not trying to steal the show or anything like that. We're simply offering a solution that could benefit everyone involved," added Hoskinson.

This integration would also enable interoperability between the three chains, allowing for the transfer of assets and messages.

"We could have a Bitcoin token on Midnight and an XRP token on Midnight, and they would be able to interact with each other on the same chain."

According to Hoskinson, this initiative could potentially boost Cardano's total value locked (TVL) to levels exceeding Solana and Ethereum's combined TVL.

However, this claim appears aspirational, considering that Cardano's TVL is currently around $100 million, while Solana's TVL is $766 million and Ethereum's TVL is $53 billion.

This thread provides an update on the possibility of bringing RLUSD (Ripple USD) to the ADA chain, continuing a narrative we've been tracking closely.

While there's interest from both sides and technical proposals exist, it seems a big factor in the decision remains Circle's fate.

As reported by CC News, early talks about integrating RLUSD onto Cardano began last year with proposals from the Cardano team to support the integration for free.

This arose from a desire to bring more stablecoin activity to the ADA ecosystem, in contrast to the ETH chain where numerous stablecoins operate.

However, a key variable is the rumored acquisition of Circle by Ripple, an optimistic scenario that would create a powerful stablecoin entity.

If Ripple acquires Circle, it would completely change the listing strategy for RLUSD, according to Hoskinson.

This scenario, valued at $11 billion, is a major point of discussion between the two teams.

If Circle becomes part of Ripple, RLUSD might no longer land on Cardano, as it would require a different integration path due to the