Cardano co-founder Charles Hoskinson sees a future where Cardano enhances Bitcoin’s DeFi capabilities. Hoskinson’s vision, posted April 1, 2025, includes integrating with the Lightning Network and potentially exceeding the scale of Ethereum’s DeFi ecosystem.
Hoskinson envisions Cardano integrating with Bitcoin DeFi through Layer 2 solutions and interoperability, suggesting ongoing partnerships and advancements are positioning ADA to integrate Layer 2 solutions with BTC. This could unlock new avenues for innovation in decentralized finance.
In a conversation with Scott Melker, Hoskinson stated, “The Edinburgh Decentralization Index says that Cardano is the most decentralized cryptocurrency on the planet. OK, so, you know, the evidence is there. The papers are there. The indexes are there. The growth rates are there.” He also added, “And by the way, we’re in the reserve. The U.S. government seems to think there’s something valid with with Cardano.”
Hoskinson anticipates increased involvement of financial institutions in Bitcoin DeFi, stating their fiduciary duty to generate yields will drive this. He believes BTC ETFs offering DeFi-based returns will further accelerate this trend, establishing a firm institutional presence in Bitcoin and UTXO-based DeFi within three years.
Cardano plans to integrate Hydra with the Bitcoin Lightning Network to establish a trustless recursive bridge between ecosystems. Cardano aims to simplify Bitcoin’s integration with UTXO blockchains for improved user experience by collaborating with Maestro. The Aiken programming language will be optimized for scripting, ensuring seamless interoperability across both networks.
Hoskinson stated, “It’s still early days but we are making methodical progress every step of the way. And what’s nice is Cardano has that ethos that’s interoperable and compatible with Bitcoin.”
Hoskinson asserts ADA will enable Bitcoin users to engage in DeFi transactions using only BTC, removing the need for additional tokens. He believes a merger between BTC and Cardano’s infrastructure could elevate Cardano’s DeFi ecosystem beyond the scales of Ethereum and Solana combined.
Hoskinson added, “It’s a lot harder for Bitcoin to make that transit. So they kind of meet in the middle and use Cardano as a crossroads for those two things.”
At press time, Bitcoin was trading at $83,190.63 after a 1.47% increase over the last 24 hours, while ADA rose 3.04% to $0.6734. ADA stood out with an RSI of 53, surpassing other altcoins and BTC.
ADA’s resilience demonstrates its market strength, establishing it as a leading contender, maintaining a 96% gain from its pre-election levels. Bitcoin’s dominance has surged to 62.40%, marking a four-year high.