Charles Hoskinson Discusses Potential ICP Partnership, Cardano’s Stablecoin Strategies, Bitcoin Interoperability, and Ongoing Country Initiatives

Charles Hoskinson, the founder of Cardano (ADA) and CEO of Input Output Global (IOG), delivered a wide‐ranging AMA on February 2, 2025

Cardano (ADA) founder Charles Hoskinson participated in a wide-ranging AMA on February 2, 2025, touching upon potential partnerships with the Internet Computer Protocol (ICP), Cardano's stablecoin strategies, Bitcoin interoperability, and ongoing initiatives with various countries.

Over the course of nearly two and a half hours, Hoskinson shared details on governance, budgeting, and technical roadmaps for the Cardano ecosystem while also commenting on the future of multi-chain applications.

Partnership Prospects With ICP

One of the recurring topics was cross-chain collaboration. When asked about the possibility of working with Dominic Williams and ICP, Hoskinson indicated that discussions about interoperability and cooperation could be on the table.

While he did not provide a definitive roadmap, he stated, “It’s potentially possible. ICP was very unhappy about being excluded. They were one of the best blockchain candidates for what Wyoming wanted to do and they were excluded for no reason. So it would be interesting to see if perhaps on the litigation side they’d want to come in [… ] overall there’s a lot of good people in that ecosystem got great scientists in that ecosystem too.”

Although this remark was made in the broader context of the Wyoming stablecoin project, it highlights Hoskinson's openness to revisiting relationships with other networks. His stance on multi-chain interoperability has been consistent over the years. Hoskinson often underscores the strategic importance of bridging ecosystems, remarking that the future of blockchain is “multi-chain” and that platforms such as Cardano can gain significant value through cross-pollination with projects like ICP.

Ongoing Conversation With Ripple

Stablecoins emerged as a focal point of the AMA, with Hoskinson referencing multiple proposals, including Real USD and RLUSD. He stressed that stablecoins on Cardano must be handled transparently and securely, emphasizing that they should be interoperable with both on-chain governance and DeFi protocols.

Revisiting the cooperation possibility with Ripple, Hoskinson noted ongoing conversations: “We talk to David Schwartz and Brad Garlinghouse. […] Strong possibility we can negotiate something with RLUSD. Ripple told us to wait till March as they just finished NYDFS. […] We’ll see if there’s a roadmap and how they’ll get that done.”

He also proposed a scenario in which the Cardano treasury could convert a percentage of its funds into a stablecoin, potentially using external managers to participate in Cardano-native DeFi. Such an approach, Hosk argued, “would increase the amount of minted stablecoins in the Cardano ecosystem,” thereby boosting total value locked (TVL) and liquidity. However, he stressed that any such measure would require broad community debate and on-chain governance to secure consensus.

Bitcoin Interoperability

Hoskinson maintained his longstanding position that Cardano should strive to interface directly with Bitcoin. He explained that it can serve as a US strategic Bitcoin reserve and a powerful asset to onboard and revealed ongoing work on Bitcoin-based DeFi projects, underscoring plans to present a functional demonstration at the Bitcoin 2025 conference.

Further, Hoskinson described an ambition to merge Hydra—Cardano's layer-2 scalability solution—with the Lightning Network, potentially resulting in a “lightning-Hydra synergy” that fosters greater cross-chain functionality. “Hydra continues to grow […]. We’re exploring how to merge Hydra with the Lightning Network and create lightning-Hydra so that that Bitcoin relationship strengthens,” he said.

Global Adoption

From Africa to Mongolia, Hoskinson outlined several ongoing or potential country-level projects. While discussing a pivot away from direct government contracting, he praised the emergence of private-sector engagements, such as microfinance initiatives that leverage Cardano rails.

First, Hoskinson talked about the failed project in Ethiopia: “When we entered Ethiopia, it was a promising nation […] five years later, all those promises evaporated and the government was getting allegations of genocide amongst other things […] we tried really hard to build something for the kids […] but the government just ghosted us.”

Instead, he pointed to private sector projects like RealFi, a Kenyan-based venture focused on microfinance lending with Cardano's stablecoin infrastructure in mind, saying it would bring “real-world assets” and “actual micro-finance products” onto the blockchain. According to Hoskinson, this effort “will eventually wire in stablecoins, identity systems, and settle on Cardano rails.”

Similarly, Hoskinson referenced interest in Mongolia for possible partnership opportunities. When asked directly, “Any news from Mongolia and Cardano?” he responded: “I’ve been wanting to do something substantive in Mongolia for a long time. […] There’s some discussion in Wyoming about a gold-backed stablecoin. It would be really cool to do that, and Mongolia would be really cool to do as an international partner for it.”

At press time, ADA traded at $0.6755.