Anatoly Yakovenko – co-founder of Solana Labs – publicly opposed the new proposal from Cardano's leadership to transfer part of the treasury fund to Bitcoin.
In a post on June 16 on X, Yakovenko stated that this idea is misguided, reflecting poor financial management and sending the wrong message to the Cardano community. He wrote:
“Projects should only keep enough cash in short-term bonds (T-Bills) to operate for 18–36 months, and just that.”
The controversy stems from Charles Hoskinson's proposal on June 13 – the founder of Cardano – to transfer 100 million USD worth of ADA from the treasury to Bitcoin and stablecoins. Hoskinson argues that this would enhance Cardano's DeFi capabilities and help address issues in the current stablecoin ecosystem.
However, many critics argue that this proposal reflects a lack of confidence in the ADA token itself. Cryptocurrency trader Aaron Dishner remarked that this action is no different than Cardano admitting that Bitcoin is worth more than their native token.
Yakovenko also expressed a similar viewpoint and questioned:
“Why would someone need a development team to buy and hold Bitcoin for them, when they can do it themselves?”
The Cardano community is divided, Hoskinson defends the strategy
The proposal has sparked mixed reactions within the Cardano community. Some are concerned that selling 100 million USD worth of ADA to buy Bitcoin could put downward pressure on the token.
However, Hoskinson dismissed these concerns, asserting that the ADA market is deep enough to absorb the sell-off without collapsing. He defended the plan as a bold move to improve Cardano's DeFi position, particularly in the aspect of stablecoin integration and liquidity enhancement.
Hoskinson pointed out that currently, only about 33 million USD in stablecoins are operating on the Cardano network – a number he considers insufficient for ensuring long-term viability. According to him, restructuring the treasury is a crucial strategy to address this limitation, not a sign of weakness.
Despite the controversy, Hoskinson remains steadfast and says that personal attacks do not help resolve the core issue. He stated:
“We have a way to fix this. Calling me arrogant, tyrannical, or the ‘pimple’ of the system will not address the objective reality.”
Hoskinson stated that an alliance within the community will officially submit the proposal at the Rare Evo event – the annual conference on the Cardano ecosystem.