Hoskinson: Cardano (ADA) and XRP Ledger Deliver Web3 Scale 100x Beyond Legacy Finance
Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson said on X that native blockchains like Cardano (ADA) and the XRP Ledger (XRP) are already achieving capabilities “100x” beyond what legacy finance projects—such as those tied to Canton—are attempting in Web3. He framed his comments around architecture, decentralization and global scalability rather than market price movements. Hoskinson highlighted Midnight, a privacy-focused Layer 1 he leads, as an example of a Web3-native solution with a dual-token model (NIGHT and DUST) designed for programmable privacy, predictable fees and real-world asset tokenization. He contrasted these against legacy finance efforts that impose tight controls and limited interoperability, arguing only end-to-end strategies with engaged communities and robust partners can address the $10 trillion real-world asset (RWA) market. Hoskinson also cast XRP as a mature, high-throughput settlement network with a long operational history—pointing to its low-cost, fast cross-border settlement and the legal clarity gained from Ripple’s regulatory battle—as further evidence that native blockchains are better suited to scale institutional use cases than incumbent financial rails.
Bullish
This commentary is bullish for ADA and XRP sentiment because it highlights structural and adoption advantages rather than price speculation. Hoskinson’s endorsement of Midnight and comparison to XRP frames these networks as production-ready for real-world asset tokenization and cross-border settlement—use cases attractive to institutions. Positive narratives about architecture, scalability and regulatory progress (notably Ripple’s legal wins) can improve investor confidence and institutional appetite, supporting higher demand. Short-term impact: modest price uplift and increased on-chain activity in ADA and XRP as traders react to optimistic fundamentals and media coverage. Expect volatility as momentum traders front-run positions. Long-term impact: if Midnight, Cardano tooling and XRPL integrations show measurable RWA or payment flows, that could materially increase on-chain volume, staking/utility demand for ADA and transactional demand for XRP, supporting sustained appreciation. Risks: claims of “100x” are rhetorical and competition from other L1s and regulatory shifts remain. Market response will depend on concrete product rollouts, partner announcements, and measurable adoption metrics rather than statements alone.