Charles Hoskinson refutes claims of diverting Cardano project funds

Charles Hoskinson, founder of Cardano, has strongly responded to the latest accusations being made against him by a stake pool operator (SPO). The SPO accused Hoskinson of taking money from the Cardano treasury for personal projects.

The claims were also met with debate in the community, with many wondering why the SPO singled out Hoskinson when the Cardano Foundation, which has significant influence, continues to generate profits from staked ADA.

Hoskinson, who also heads Input Output Global (IOG), the company behind the development of Cardano, found the accusations ironic. In a pointed remark, he expressed his frustration at being depicted as the antagonist of the Cardano ecosystem, whilst the Cardano Foundation is praised for its role. He criticized what he regards as an inconsistent and negative narrative developing among certain parts of the community, where he is blamed for problems with the project despite his important contributions.

Love seeing the "Charles is the enemy of Cardano and he needs to leave" followed by "We have a great time working with the CF"

See how the culture propagates… https://t.co/0ArkYPpotA

— Charles Hoskinson (@IOHK_Charles) October 16, 2025

Disagreements between IOG and Cardano foundation

The conflict between IOG and the Cardano Foundation is not a new one. Tensions have mounted over the years, especially regarding the allocation of treasury funds. A recent example is the proposal by the Cardano Foundation to reduce 31 million ADA from the 2025 ecosystem budget. The cuts mainly targeted the core development funding allocated to IOG, which Hoskinson believes was an attempt to undermine his company’s efforts.

The conflicts have been further intensified by Hoskinson’s criticism of the Cardano Foundation’s unelected board, which he believes lacks accountability. He stated that last year, the board had planned to vote against the budget for the ecosystem, which he considered detrimental to Cardano’s development. Despite this tension, a few community members still call for a resolution to the rift and for both sides to work together for the sake of the project.

Midnight project, a bright spot for Cardano

Despite internal conflicts, Hoskinson has remained steadfast in promoting Cardano’s future, with a particular emphasis on the potential of the Midnight project. Speaking recently to the Crypto Crow show, he called Midnight the “Most transformational project in Cardano’s history.” This privacy-oriented blockchain has been playing a key role in building vital partnerships for the ecosystem.

Hoskinson emphasized that Midnight’s partnerships, including its major collaborations with companies such as Brave, Blockchain.com, Bitcoin.com, and Google Cloud, are not only beneficial to Midnight but also to Cardano. He added that those partnerships are important because Midnight is a Cardano-native token, so whoever embraces it is essentially tapping into the Cardano ecosystem as well. 

Furthermore, the IOG CEO pointed out that Midnight will remedy some of the major Cardano setbacks, including the oracle and stablecoin issues. Additionally, Hoskinson revealed that Midnight would be the first Cardano native token to be listed on all of the major exchanges.

Cardano has also been struggling in the wider cryptocurrency market due to the internal strife the company has been experiencing. The token recently lost key support levels, with ADA dropping below the $0.66 mark. The asset is currently down over 9% in the latest analysis.

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