Ripple CTO David “Joelkatz” Schwartz has confirmed that Midnight is forging a new bromance with the Cardano ecosystem, further fueling partnership speculation.
Focus on privacy cardano The sidechain has been under the radar since its native token, Midnight (NIGHT), debuted in early December. One particularly important factor is constant discussion Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson talks about its importance.
Yesterday, one of his comments about Midnight’s potential drew the approval of Schwartz, one of the pioneers of the Ripple and XRP ecosystem. After the approval request, Ripple’s CTO wasted no time in agreeing to the impending sidechain, reinvigorating the prospect of a Cardano-XRP partnership.
“I hereby acknowledge Midnight.” He said this in an article on December 29th. Tweet.
late night stamp of approval
The latest exchange began when XRP supporter ‘XRPcryptowolf’ highlighted Hoskinson’s recent statements. Midnight and XRP scale up by over 100x Traditional financial systems as the push towards tokenization of real world assets (RWA) continues.
For context, traditional institutions such as BNY Mellon and State Street are collaborating in the Canton Network to facilitate tokenization. However, Hoskinson highlighted in a Dec. 26 post that these companies don’t seem to be learning, as XRP and Midnight have scaled 100 times beyond their ambitions.
In response to “XRPcryptowolf,” another XRP community member said he just wants Schwartz to acknowledge Midnight first and foremost. A minute after the request, Schwartz confirmed it in a tweet of approval.
Cardano founder reaction
Meanwhile, Hosconson joined the conversation on December 30th and shared what has once again sparked partnership conversations between both ecosystems. “I love you,” said the Cardano founder.
I love you pic.twitter.com/QZuICdo5QP
— Charles Hoskinson (@IOHK_Charles) December 30, 2025
Hoskinson also shared a meme clip from the 2008 comedy Step Brothers. In it, Will Ferrell asks his new brother-in-law, John C. Reilly, if they just became best friends. Remarkably, it shows an instant bond between the two characters, which Hoskinson and Schwartz seem to share at the moment.
Beyond the meme, the XRP and Cardano communities believe there is something in the pipeline. Notably, both ecosystems have repeatedly teased this, with the recent bromance between the Ripple CTO and Cardano founder accelerating the story.
Midnight’s participation makes it even more appealing. Mr Hoskinson previously said: Midnight will become a DeFi layer for XRPand this potential continues to be strengthened by friendly exchanges between key actors in the ecosystem.
Prominent industry figure and U.S. attorney John E. Deaton also commented on the exchange between Hoskinson and Schwartz. He called the duo “two incredibly smart minds,” adding that it was a great opportunity to end the year and start the next.
The combination of two incredibly smart minds, one common purpose, and the cheerful spirit of the holiday season is a great way to end the year and look forward to the next. happy new year.
— John E. Deaton (@JohnEDeaton1) December 30, 2025
