Charles Hoskinson – founder of Cardano and co-founder of Ethereum – recently made notable remarks in an exclusive interview after he was excluded from the guest list for the digital asset conference at the White House, which gathered many top crypto leaders.
While prominent figures like Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, Executive Chairman Michael Saylor (MicroStrategy), and Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse were present at the meeting with President Donald Trump along with crypto advisors Bo Hines and David Sacks, Hoskinson – who was mentioned by the administration as a candidate for the “strategic crypto reserve” – was not invited.
His response? Very calm.
“I don't need to make any deals with Trump,” Hoskinson, 37, replied candidly. “I want to build sustainable and long-term policies, not just a temporary media effect.”
From eccentric to “DeFi diplomat”
#Hoskinson has long been viewed as an eccentric figure in the crypto world. Having once promoted... glowing cannabis, stem cell injections, and made music videos with Snoop Dogg on a Wyoming farm, he is now turning to a new path: global blockchain policy.
As the operator of Input Output (IOG) – the company developing Cardano – Hoskinson is currently serving as a “DeFi diplomat.” He travels around the world to persuade lawmakers, politicians, and even heads of state about the potential of blockchain in governance.
In the U.S., he has established a close relationship with Senator Tim Scott – who is coordinating the historic stablecoin bill.
In Japan, he discussed AI and technology with former Digital Transformation Minister Takuya Hirai.
In Argentina, he met with the team of President Javier Milei – who previously sparked controversy for supporting a collapsed memecoin worth $4.5 billion.
Hoskinson asserted that he is not involved in the memecoin incident, while continuing to push for the globalization of Cardano.
Is Cardano really “falling behind”?
Despite being valued at nearly $22 billion and ranking among the top 10 largest blockchains, #Cardano still faces much criticism:
Underdeveloped: it took up to 4 years to deploy the smart contract since it began in 2017.
Hard to access: the programming language Haskell used by Cardano is considered “hard to digest” for most programmers.
Compared to Ethereum (over $46 billion TVL) or Solana ($7 billion TVL), Cardano only reached $287 million and has just 39 DeFi applications.
Some projects are even leaving Cardano, such as World Mobile which has moved to the Base chain. Jose Macedo from Delphi Labs commented:
“If they had chosen Cardano from the beginning instead of Solana or EVM, they might have been much more famous.”
Hoskinson immediately hit back fiercely on X (Twitter):
“The only mistake is your dad forgetting to wear a condom.”
Ethereum is not immune to criticism
Hoskinson has long criticized Ethereum, where he was a co-founder but was removed from the project in 2014 due to disagreements. He once wanted Ethereum to be a commercial company rather than a non-profit organization.
Technologically, Hoskinson believes Ethereum relies too much on Vitalik Buterin and the layer 2 model is a “parasitic ecosystem”:
“We have long said that the layer 2 model is unreasonable. They siphon liquidity, users, and value from Ethereum but don't give much back.”
In the past 12 months, Ether dropped 47%, while ADA increased 37% – according to CoinGecko.
New policy order: Hoskinson chooses long-term, not chasing trends
Despite Trump signing many crypto orders, establishing a Bitcoin reserve, and appointing a crypto-friendly lawyer to the SEC, Hoskinson believes that “systemic and long-term policies” are what truly matter.
Two important bills that he is monitoring:
Stablecoin Bill – will standardize the issuance of stablecoins.
Market Structure Bill – clearly delineates the powers between the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
Senator Tim Scott comments on Hoskinson:
“Charles helped me understand the complexity – not just commodities or securities.”
If passed, these two bills will pave the way for banks and financial institutions to participate in the crypto market, while also promoting the tokenization of real assets such as gold, stocks, bonds, and real estate.
Hoskinson expects that by 2030, about $10 trillion of traditional assets will be brought onto the blockchain.
Trump, startups, and instability: Challenge or opportunity?
However, Hoskinson does not fully trust Trump.
“Trump runs the government like a startup. And when doing so, 60% is success, the rest is failure.”
Since Trump took office in January, the crypto market has lost 25% of its value. The risk of entering a bear market is increasing.
Nevertheless, Hoskinson still sees opportunities in instability:
“When the global environment is unstable, you need an alternative system to store value that is not affected by politics. The only choice? Blockchain.”
And if chosen, that blockchain is clearly Cardano.
“Of course,” Hoskinson smiled as he concluded.
Connect with the crypto market and Binance users
Charles Hoskinson's interview provides insight into Cardano's policy direction – a factor that Binance users need to consider if they want to expand their long-term investment strategy.
Stability in the legal framework will be a key factor for the tokenization of traditional assets – a trend that blockchains like Cardano are fiercely pursuing.
For Binance users, ADA may be a suitable choice for those who trust transparent technology, clear policies, and a more sustainable development direction than a “temporary political relationship.”
Risk Warning: This article is for informational purposes only and is not investment advice. The cryptocurrency market is highly volatile and carries many risks. Please consider carefully and only invest what you can afford to lose.