Hoskinson: XRP and Cardano Leading the Tokenization Race, $10T RWA Opportunity
Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson says Web3-native platforms such as XRP and Cardano are outpacing legacy finance in tokenization efforts. Speaking after discussions around the Canton Network, Hoskinson argued traditional institutions are attempting to replicate systems already built for Web3 but at a much smaller scale. He cited real-world assets (RWA) tokenization as a transformative market opportunity, estimating it could be worth roughly $10 trillion. Hoskinson highlighted XRP’s large idle supply — he estimated over $100 billion of XRP currently yield-free — and proposed integrating XRP liquidity into Cardano DeFi to unlock dormant capital, boost yields, and increase Cardano’s TVL. He also mentioned Cardano’s privacy sidechain Midnight and emphasized interoperability and partnerships (not competition) with ecosystems like XRP to capture liquidity and institutional capital. Hoskinson believes purpose-built Web3 platforms have structural advantages over legacy finance in the tokenization race.
Bullish
The news is bullish for Cardano (ADA) and potentially XRP because Hoskinson outlines a clear strategy to channel idle XRP liquidity into Cardano DeFi and to pursue real-world asset (RWA) tokenization — a large TAM (~$10 trillion). Integration plans, emphasis on interoperability, and the potential to increase Cardano’s TVL are constructive fundamentals that can attract capital and drive demand for ADA and related protocol tokens. Historically, concrete partnership or integration announcements and clear plans to onboard institutional capital (RWA) have produced positive price moves and higher on-chain activity (e.g., tokenization pilots on Ethereum increasing demand for associated DeFi assets). Short-term, markets may react positively to the narrative and any follow-up technical or partnership announcements; expect volatility around concrete steps (protocol launches, bridges, RWA listings). Long-term, if Cardano successfully captures meaningful RWA flows and unlocks XRP liquidity into its DeFi stack, it could materially increase TVL, protocol fees, and token demand — supportive for a sustained bullish thesis. Risks: execution delays, regulatory uncertainty (particularly around XRP), and stronger competitive moves from other chains could temper upside. Overall, the announcement improves sentiment and the probability of capital inflows, hence a bullish classification.