Cardano Founder Confirms Full XRP Package in the Works Around Glacier Airdrop, XRP DeFi, and RLUSD

The Cardano founder has confirmed working on a full XRP package for the Cardano ecosystem, which includes the glacier airdrop, XRP DeFi, and RLUSD integration.

Charles Hoskinson has confirmed that his team is working on a full package focused on the XRP ecosystem. This plan includes support for the upcoming Glacier Airdrop, potential XRP-powered DeFi tools, and discussions around bringing Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin to the Cardano network.

Hoskinson shared the update during a conversation on X after a community member asked for an update on RLUSD integration on Cardano. In his response, he said the work goes beyond RLUSD and involves a larger effort to connect more closely with the XRP community.

The Glacier Airdrop and XRP Support on Lace

A major part of this plan is the Glacier Airdrop, now scheduled for the last quarter of 2025. Originally expected earlier in the year, the airdrop will distribute Midnight tokens, used in Cardano’s privacy-focused sidechain, to retail users across several blockchains, including XRP holders.

Hoskinson has affirmed that the goal is to reward regular users, not big investors or venture capital firms. Notably, he described this as part of a “cooperative economics” model that puts the broader community first.

Roughly 37 million wallets will take part in the airdrop, including XRP holders. It is part of Cardano’s push for greater inclusion and cross-chain collaboration and also marks a major step toward healing the long-standing rift between Hoskinson and the XRP community.

Meanwhile, the full XRP package also includes XRP support in Lace. Specifically, Cardano’s Lace wallet is working toward integrating XRP support after introducing Bitcoin support with Lace version 1.22 in April.

The upgrade will let users manage XRP alongside ADA and other assets. Notably, it is a major step toward Cardano’s goal of becoming a multi-chain platform and turning Lace into a more complete tool for managing assets across different networks.

XRP DeFi on Cardano and RLUSD Integration

The third part of this package involves integrating XRP DeFi into Cardano. Hoskinson has confirmed that his team is exploring ways to bring XRP into Cardano’s DeFi space.

Specifically, these early-stage efforts focus on building cross-chain liquidity pools and decentralized exchanges that take advantage of XRP’s speed and low fees. However, these ideas are still in development at press time. Recently, Hoskinson confirmed that Midnight could serve as the DeFi layer on XRP, introducing better yields.

Meanwhile, as part of the fourth aspect of this full XRP package, talks are also underway between Cardano and Ripple about bringing RLUSD, Ripple’s U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin, to the Cardano network.

Hoskinson confirmed these early discussions and said both sides see value in the idea. Although no final decisions or timelines have been set, the move could help both platforms, by growing RLUSD’s user base and boosting activity within Cardano’s DeFi ecosystem.

Overall, the relationship between Cardano and the XRP ecosystem seems to be turning into a real partnership. While the idea remains a concept at press time, Hoskinson has confirmed that work is underway.