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Cardano Founder Seeks to Provide ‘Much Better Yields’ for XRP Holders
Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has proposed an initiative that would enable XRP holders to earn significantly better yields. Hoskinson made the announcement during a recent live broadcast. In a tweet, the popular Cardano media outlet Angry Crypto Show highlighted a segment of the broadcast in which Hoskinson suggested positioning Midnight as XRP’s DeFi layer. Notably, Hoskinson’s initiative envisions Midnight, Cardano’s upcoming sidechain, as the decentralized finance (DeFi) hub of the XRP ecosystem.
JUST IN:#Cardano$ADA Founder Charles Hoskinson says “I’d love for Cardano and Midnight to be the DeFi layer of the $XRP ecosystem, so they can stay and continue to be XRP, but then Ripple and XRP holders can get much better yields.” 
— Angry Crypto Show (@angrycryptoshow) June 14, 2025
Midnight Features
Hoskinson first presented Midnight in 2022 as a privacy-focused sidechain for Cardano. Two years later, in 2024, Cardano’s research and development arm, IOG, launched the Midnight testnet. Thanks to Midnight’s use of the extended UTXO model, developers can deploy private smart contracts without modifying Cardano’s base layer. Midnight could also serve as a modular DeFi workspace for non-smart contract tokens like XRP. However, these tokens would need to bridge to the sidechain to leverage Midnight’s DeFi capabilities. As the team works toward a mainnet release scheduled for later this year, Hoskinson has been highlighting how this Layer-2 privacy blockchain could benefit Cardano and the broader crypto ecosystem, including XRP. Earlier this year, he revealed that XRP holders would participate in the upcoming Midnight airdrop, dubbed “Glacier Drop.” It plans to distribute NIGHT and DUST tokens to 37 million blockchain wallets, including XRP Ledger (XRPL) addresses.
Midnight as XRP DeFi Layer
Now, the Cardano founder aims for Midnight to serve as the DeFi layer of the XRP ecosystem, allowing XRP holders to earn rewards. This initiative would enable XRP holders to bridge their tokens to Midnight and deposit them into Cardano-based DeFi protocols to “get much better yields.” With Midnight serving as XRP’s DeFi layer, holders can participate in yield farming, liquidity provision, and other DeFi activities. Hoskinson’s DeFi plans for XRP come weeks after Uphold, a crypto exchange, revealed a similar initiative for the third-largest non-stablecoin token. As previously reported, Uphold announced a partnership with Flare Network to help its users earn yields on their XRP holdings. The exchange is currently working behind the scenes to expose XRP holders to decentralized finance, where they can earn rewards through staking and yield farming.
Other XRP Initiatives From Hoskinson
Meanwhile, Hoskinson’s DeFi plan for XRP is just one piece of a broader roadmap envisioned for the token’s ecosystem. In April, Hoskinson confirmed that XRP would be integrated into Lace, Cardano’s non-custodial blockchain wallet. Additionally, discussions are ongoing regarding the potential integration of Ripple USD (RLUSD) stablecoin on the Cardano blockchain. Moreover, XRP holders would also participate in the upcoming Glacier Drop, slated for later this year. In a recent engagement on X, the Cardano founder referred to these initiatives as a ‘whole package’ for XRP.
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