Cardano experienced a slow and steady drop in value on Sunday as its founder, Charles Hoskinson, took to X (formerly Twitter) to address mounting criticism of Input Output Global (IOG), the blockchain research and engineering firm behind Cardano, particularly over its ADA holdings and the network’s adoption challenges.
Hoskinson took the opportunity to clarify that IOG had earned its ADA, asserting that the firm did not receive the cryptocurrency as a gift. “No ADA was ‘given’ to IOG,” he wrote. “We earned it all. It’s not the people’s money. It’s profit for building Cardano. The original value of IOG’s ADA was around $8 million in 2015. We’ve been here for nine years building.”
He also compared IOG’s ADA holdings with those of the Cardano Foundation (CF), which had received ADA as a donation. Hoskinson emphasized that the foundation is tasked with allocating those funds for ecosystem development. His comments came amid speculation over whether IOG would use its ADA holdings to support the integration of Circle’s USDC stablecoin, which Hoskinson seemed to dismiss.
On January 11, Hoskinson responded to a former CF employee who criticized the network’s lack of stablecoin integration. He claimed that the foundation had missed an opportunity to integrate USDC in 2021 for $3 million, at a time when its holdings were valued near $2 billion. “They turned down the deal according to their own employee,” Hoskinson remarked. “Then you rewrite history to eschew any of their responsibility and make it into power dynamics? I’m seriously glad you don’t work for me anymore. Dishonest people have no place at IOG.”
The controversy underscores the broader challenges facing Cardano as it seeks to increase its adoption. Major stablecoin issuers like Circle and Tether are reportedly hesitant to support the network, citing concerns over the lack of successful decentralized applications and insufficient transaction volume.
Hoskinson’s recent statements shed light on the tensions within the Cardano ecosystem as key decisions are made that could significantly impact the blockchain’s future. As of Sunday, Cardano was trading at approximately $0.96.
In the meantime, Cardano is preparing for an integration with BitcoinOS, which is expected to unlock over $1.4 trillion in liquidity. The developers are also working on Midnight, a scaling project, and Cardano could benefit from the anticipated regulatory stance of President-elect Donald Trump, who is expected to take a more crypto-friendly approach. The potential introduction of a spot ADA ETF remains uncertain, though cryptocurrency commentators remain hopeful.
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