Charles Hoskinson Opens Up About ADA Price Hitting $3 Again: ‘Cardano is Not Dead’

Charles Hoskinson, the founder of Cardano, has broken his silence in what he described as one of the most difficult periods of his decade-long career, addressing ADA’s price, the Cardano Foundation’s accountability problems, and his own future role in the ecosystem in a raw and deeply personal video address.

On ADA Getting Back to $3

Hoskinson was direct about one thing that many in the community wanted to hear most: he does not see pumping ADA’s price as his job, and never has.

“If you want a leader that can make the price of ADA go back up to the all-time high, I’m just not your person for that,” he said. “I’ve never joined this game to make cryptocurrencies more valuable.”

He acknowledged that ADA went from 2.5 cents to $3 in a single year, pointing to that history as evidence of how quickly things can change in crypto. But he was equally clear that engineering another price run through backroom deals and political manoeuvring is something he considers ethically unacceptable, regardless of what the community demands.

“If you play the game of token go up, you’ll never win,” he said, “because there’s always a new person to demand the token go up even more.”

His Biggest Career Regret

In perhaps the most candid moment of the address, Hoskinson called the structure of the Cardano Foundation the worst mistake of his entire career.

“It is impossible to hold them accountable at any level,” he said. “You have no say as ADA holders in the board, in how they do things, what they do, and the staff that are there. They are completely above and immune to any accountability.”

He added that structures where people cannot be fired or held to community account produce, at best, mediocrity, and at worst, ego and malice instead of actual execution.

On the Toxicity Directed at Him

Analysis conducted on Hoskinson’s recent social media replies found that nearly one in three responses were hostile, abusive or profanity-laden, with signs of coordinated targeting including identical language patterns and thin anonymous accounts amplifying the abuse. Hoskinson said the volume and nature of the attacks has taken a genuine psychological toll.

“I get that people are disappointed and angry and looking for somebody to blame,” he said. “But I just don’t want to be in a communication medium where one-third of the time things like that are said.”

Cardano Is Not Dead

Hoskinson closed with a message aimed squarely at those celebrating Cardano’s difficulties.

“Don’t for a moment believe that Cardano is dead,” he said. “To all the podcasters and other people that are dancing, shame on you. You’ve built nothing. You contribute nothing. And you dance on the grave of something that people believe in and dream of.”

He said he is stepping back temporarily to reflect and think, and urged the broader Cardano community to do the same, describing the moment as painful but ultimately healthy.

“These are moments that tell you who your friends really are and force you to admit who you really are and why you’re part of things.”