Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson to step back from public posts

Charles Hoskinson, founder of the Cardano blockchain, said he will pause public videos, interviews and posts on X while continuing to work on the project privately. He cited sustained online abuse as the reason for stepping back from the public spotlight.

In a video address to the Cardano community, Hoskinson said he will stop producing public content and turn down interview requests. “I’m gonna keep working on midnight, but I’m not gonna make videos publicly, and I’m not gonna do my interviews,” he said. He flagged repeated hostile replies on X and described what he called coordinated attacks as a major factor in his decision. An analysis of 130 replies to his posts that he referenced found 35 that were hostile or abusive; he also noted he had responded to some of those attacks.

Hoskinson drew a firm line on responsibility for ADA’s market performance, saying boosting the token’s price was never his role. “What I’m not passionate about is making the price of ADA go up,” he said. ADA traded near $0.18 after a recent 24-hour drop, and critics had urged him to be more vocal about price movements.

He criticized the Cardano Foundation for what he described as a lack of accountability and identified delays in approving research proposals as a recurring problem. He called for new leadership and a revised roadmap for the project. “Cardano is not a protocol. It’s the people behind the protocol,” he said.

Hoskinson noted that decentralized finance tools on Cardano have faced setbacks, including the winding down of services such as TapTools. He warned that an exclusive focus on short-term price gains could drive away contributors and users, saying, “If this is a place where only money matters… You’ll lose everyone, including me.”

Hoskinson said he will remain active in technical work and research but will reduce public engagement to protect his focus and well-being. He declined to give a timeline for returning to full public activity.