In his latest Livestream Titled “Cargo Cults and the Reality of Crypto,” Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson delivered a comprehensive monologue on the current state of digital assets, community behavior, and current legal battles in the field. The discussion covered the history of the industry, the fate of long-forgotten projects, and the sometimes disturbing culture that can arise around certain tokens.
Cardano founder speaks on HEX
Broadcasting from Colorado, Hoskinson began by explaining his recent move back to his farm and expressing excitement about construction nearing completion. He quickly shifted focus to a broader assessment of the crypto landscape, noting that thousands of cryptocurrency projects exist and that new ones often emerge, while older ones fade or reawaken.
“As many of you know, there are probably over 30,000 cryptocurrency projects going on,” Hoskinson said. “We focus on maybe 50 to 100 at any given time that are interesting in the novel.” He categorized most projects into three buckets: failed or fading projects (eg, PeerCoin, NXT, FeatherCoin), projects that were outright scams (eg BitConnect, Celsius, and Luna) and the third bucket, projects that “ Curiosity”. Extraordinary communities and unorthodox approaches to tokonomics, marketing, or culture.
From this framework, Cardano’s founder observed that some projects—which he labeled as the “third bucket”—behave. He cited Hex and Plushen as an example, noting that those communities have repeatedly sought his input in Ask Me Anything (AMA) sessions. “Every single AMA I’ve done for the last probably five years […] At least one person is saying, ‘What do you think Richard Hart? What do you think about PulseChain? What do you think of Hex?’
He said that, technically, he is not very interested: “Don’t know much about it […] Apart from the fact that I know Richard Hart is an incredibly flamboyant and extravagant person who buys a lot of luxury goods. […] And seems to have a popular YouTube channel.”
While not specifying guilt or innocence, Hoskinson highlighted that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has brought forward a private case against Hart for alleged fraud and misappropriation of $12.1 million. He compared that situation with the current situation SEC matters Against companies like Coinbase, Binance, and the like the krakenwhich focus on whether certain assets are securities:
“The cases against Richard are different and will continue,” he argued, adding that the SEC complaint includes claims of personal misconduct and misappropriation of funds, rather than just questions of token classification.
Hoskinson also mentioned reports of an Interpol Red Notice involving Hart, along with charges related to tax evasion and an assault case in Finland. He cited this as evidence that the situation goes beyond civil disputes and could invite coordination from the IRS and the US Department of Justice in criminal cases.
“There is an Interpol red notice […] It’s an undeniable, undeniable thing,” Cardano’s founder asserted, though he acknowledged that some in these communities believe the allegations are fabricated.
After citing these details, Hoskinson revealed that he has been bombarded with accusatory comments and tweets by some Plushchain and Hex supporters. He said their aggressive approach ultimately discourages any chance of cooperation: “You will gain absolutely nothing by further harassment. […] Whatever little interest there was in actually looking into your ecosystem is gone.”
He then drew parallels to other crypto founders or figures that, in his view, fueled conflicting communities – particularly status comparisons. Craig Wright And his Bitcoin SV (BSV) supporters: “That’s what happened in the BSV community with CAG. We all saw it [… ] And honestly, ask yourself, how many people are waking up today and saying, ‘Boy, I can’t wait to make my next project on BSV’?”
Hoskinson concludes with what he considers “unnecessary advice,” urging these communities to evaluate what kind of ecosystem they want to become—independent of their founders—and whether the current approach will foster partnerships or Will alienate potential allies. “If you are truly a cryptocurrency and you are truly decentralized, you must be self-governing and you must be separate from your founder,” he said. “If that’s the case, you have to ask yourself again what kind of ecosystem do you want to be?”
Despite the harsh tone, Hoskinson wished the communities luck, stressing that Cardano itself intends to remain neutral and non-involved: “I have nothing against anyone in the Plushen community, the Hex community. […] I don’t care about your ecosystem,” he said, adding that he would not engage further on the issue.
At press time, Cardano traded at $0.95.
Featured images from YouTube, charts from TradingView.com
