Veteran "Ethereum Killer" Cardano Founder's Crypto Journey

Original Article Title: "Billionaire Charles Hoskinson: From Ethereum OG, Cardano Founder to a Jack of All Trades in 'Unconventional' Ventures"

Original Article Author: Zen, PANews

As ADA is designated by Trump as one of the strategic reserve cryptocurrencies, Cardano and its founder Charles Hoskinson are once again in the media spotlight. As an early Bitcoin evangelist, Ethereum founding member, and creator of Cardano, the already billionaire Charles has been known in recent years for his unconventional ways: not only has he invested in and engaged in the search for extraterrestrial life, established a medical research institute, and even managed a thousand-acre ranch, delving into the traditional livestock industry. As Cardano once again becomes a hot topic in the industry, Charles's story is also worth revisiting.

Early Bitcoin Believer and Evangelist

In 2008, Charles Hoskinson was majoring in mathematics and analytic number theory in college. In addition to mathematics, he was also interested in researching monetary policy. That same year, he participated in the "Campaign for Liberty" led by Republican Congressman Ron Paul. Ron advocated for the abolition of the Federal Reserve Bank because he believed it not only could not control inflation but was actually the culprit behind creating inflation, causing economic downturns, and depleting individuals' assets. A few years later, when he heard about Bitcoin, he initially did not pay much attention to it because he believed that the success of a currency depended not on the technology, nor on dreams, but on how many people were willing to use it.

It wasn't until 2013 that Charles changed his mind, starting to believe that Bitcoin would change human money transactions, commercial relationships, corporate behavior, property rights certification, and democratic models. He began buying Bitcoin, mining, and founded the "Bitcoin Education Project," freely disseminating a series of Bitcoin education courses online, from monetary policy to blockchain technology, and established a partnership with Bitcoin Magazine.

At that time, Bitcoin was still in its infancy, with a small community size, and it was not difficult for people in the industry to establish connections with each other. As long as one was enthusiastic enough, one could quickly enter the core circle, and Charles was one of them. During this period, Charles also met several early Bitcoin evangelists and tech gurus through offline gatherings and embarked on his first entrepreneurial venture—a decentralized exchange platform called Bitshares.

Bitshares was co-founded by Charles and Daniel Larimer (also known as "BM"), who later founded EOS, but they went their separate ways due to different management philosophies. Charles later mentioned that he believed introducing venture capital meant that company decisions had to be accountable to shareholders, and diverse opinions were beneficial for the company's development. However, BM preferred autonomous decision-making and did not want interference from others. In the early stages of the startup, BM's father, Stan Larimer, was also involved in Bitshares, and Stan even provided the apartment where Charles lived. Therefore, after disagreements arose, Charles had to take the initiative to leave.

The Hasty Departure of Ethereum's Founding "Elder"

In October 2013, Anthony Di Iorio from the Bitcoin Alliance of Canada, Mihai Alisie from Bitcoin Magazine, Charles, and later Ethereum's founder Vitalik Buterin, came together to envision an ecosystem for a programming language for blockchain applications. Subsequently, Gavin Wood, Jeffrey Wilcke, Joe Lubin, and others were also invited to join the discussion.

In January 2014, during the North American Bitcoin Conference held in Miami, in a beachside hut rented by Anthony, the Ethereum project was born at a gathering of nearly thirty people. At this point, Charles, as Ethereum's CEO, had quietly completed the transition from a crypto evangelist to a core industry participant.

However, as Ethereum rapidly progressed in its development, it also had to face crucial management decisions—whether to build Ethereum into a for-profit enterprise or operate it in a non-profit manner. This question sparked heated debates within the founding team. Charles advocated for Ethereum to follow Google's example and establish a for-profit company to acquire more resources for accelerated development. In contrast, Vitalik insisted that Ethereum should maintain its decentralized ethos and operate in a non-profit mode, a long-term plan that was supported by the majority of internal members.

Ultimately, due to ideological differences once again, Charles chose to leave, and his Ethereum CEO title was subsequently revoked. At that time, Ethereum had only been founded for a brief half year. Years later, looking back on his stance at Ethereum, Charles admitted that perhaps Vitalik's non-profit model was more suitable for Ethereum's path. The success of Ethereum has indeed been inseparable from community drive and the development of an open-source ecosystem.

A New Journey: Charles and His Cardano "Independent Kingdom"

According to Charles, after leaving Ethereum, he had considered returning to academia to complete his PhD. However, fate seemed to have other plans for him. During this period of contemplating life, Charles met his former Ethereum colleague Jeremy Wood. The two hit it off, co-founding a company focused on blockchain and cryptocurrency engineering and research called IOHK (Input Output Hong Kong).

During the early days of their startup, they only invested a few thousand dollars. However, they quickly landed many blockchain development contracts, with IOHK being compensated in Bitcoin. Luckily, following a major bull market for Bitcoin, IOHK soon became highly profitable, allowing them to self-fund blockchain research and development without relying on external financing. Thus, Cardano was born. It is worth noting that when Cardano was created in 2017, Charles steadfastly refused to introduce venture capital, believing that the involvement of capital would contradict the core principle of decentralization in the cryptocurrency industry. He stated that venture capitalists often tend to first take "their cut of the profit from a project," which goes against the open spirit of cryptocurrency.

As Cardano rapidly grew, IOHK had enough funding to sponsor research labs at the University of Edinburgh and the Tokyo Institute of Technology, ultimately leading to the emergence of the Ouroboros consensus protocol, which became the core mechanism of the Cardano blockchain. In 2018, Cardano also announced a collaboration with the Ethiopian government to explore the potential applications of blockchain technology. However, the bear market at the time plunged the entire crypto industry into a downturn, and Cardano also entered a period of dormancy. It was not until 2021 that Cardano gradually recovered along with the market, with its Ada token reaching an all-time high of over $2.

It is worth mentioning that compared to other Layer1 solutions like Ethereum and Solana, Cardano's transaction volume and activity levels are not as impressive, leading it to often be criticized as a "zombie chain" that seems to survive solely based on the creator's popularity. Nevertheless, as of March 6, Cardano's (Ada) fully diluted market capitalization is still as high as $42.7 billion, with its circulating market cap exceeding $34 billion.

Cardano remains highly popular in the Japanese market, earning the nickname "Japanese Ethereum," largely due to its early fundraising model. It is reported that nearly 95% of the buyers in Cardano's public sale were Japanese investors, also referred to as "retail investors." This is mainly because this public sale was led by the Japanese company Emurgo, and at the time, Japan's regulatory environment was relatively lenient compared to that of Europe and the US, leading to Cardano being misconstrued as a Japanese project. However, as the US crypto policy has become increasingly open, Cardano is gradually shedding its Japanese image.

Political Bet: From Little Kennedy to Trump

In April 2024, Charles Hoskinson announced his support for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to run for President of the United States. RFK Jr. believes that intelligence agencies, tech platforms, and regulatory bodies have exceeded their mandate, a view that resonates with Charles' libertarian foundation in the blockchain space. He also praised Kennedy's nuanced positions on various issues such as immigration policy and drug regulation. In August 2024, when Kennedy dropped out and joined the Trump camp, Charles also became a supporter of Trump.

On November 9th of last year, following Trump's victory, Charles announced on his podcast that he would be collaborating with the Trump administration for most of the next year to establish clear regulatory guidelines for the cryptocurrency industry. He noted that he would be doing so alongside several other industry leaders. Upon this news, the price of ADA surged, rising over 40% within 24 hours to reach its highest level in 7 months, exceeding $0.6.

On March 2nd, U.S. President Trump announced on social media that his digital asset executive order directed the President's Working Group to advance a cryptocurrency strategic reserve including XRP, SOL, and ADA. Trump also stated that he would ensure the U.S. becomes the capital of the world's cryptocurrency, making America great again. Following this announcement, ADA immediately skyrocketed, with its price surging from around $0.65 to above $1.10.

In response, Charles Hoskinson later stated that he had no knowledge of the "Trump team seeking to include ADA in the cryptocurrency reserve" matter. "We have no idea what's going on, and no one has talked to us about it. On the morning of March 2nd, I received 150 congratulations messages, but I really don't know what happened." Judging from his absence at the White House cryptocurrency summit on March 8th, it seems that Charles was indeed caught off guard by the "ADA Make America Great Again" situation.

The "Jack of All Trades" Side Projects: Aliens, Cows, and Plant Genetic Modification

After achieving great success in the cryptocurrency and blockchain space and becoming a billionaire, Charles Hoskinson also actively engaged in charitable work. In 2021, he donated around $20 million to Carnegie Mellon University to establish the "Hoskinson Mathematics Center." Additionally, in 2023, he contributed $1.5 million and, along with Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb, embarked on a journey to Papua New Guinea in search of the "meteorite" that fell into the Pacific Ocean in 2014. Despite initial excitement, the Loeb team claimed to have found tiny metallic spheres created by extraterrestrial life on the seafloor; however, according to the American Astronomical Society, the chemical composition provided by Loeb's analysis is most similar to human-produced coal ash.

In addition to the search for extraterrestrial life, Charles Hoskinson's efforts and new ventures are diverse, including but not limited to livestock, dining, healthcare, plant genetic engineering, and private jet leasing.

Charles owns an 11,000-acre ranch near Wheatland, Wyoming, where he raises over five hundred bison. Due to the lack of good dining options in the nearby town, he opened the Nessie restaurant and whiskey lounge in Wheatland. Charles has emphasized multiple times that his restaurant will be crypto-friendly. Furthermore, born into a family of doctors (his father and brother are doctors), Charles opened the Hoskinson Health and Wellness Clinic in Gillette, Wyoming, focusing on anti-aging and regenerative medicine, with the clinic reportedly costing $18 million.

"If you want to address global warming or improve the environment, then getting into plant genetic engineering makes sense." In recent years, Charles has also become fascinated with bioluminescent plants. He stated that genetically modified plants can not only produce organic lighting but also sequester carbon, eliminate toxic chemicals, and provide other environmental benefits. According to Charles, his team has successfully modified plant species including cultivated tobacco and Arabidopsis.

However, according to a report, in 2022, Charles Hoskinson's private jet flew a total of 562 hours, covering a distance of approximately 456,000 kilometers, greater than the distance between the moon and the Earth's apogee. His private jet pollution ranked in the top 15 in the United States, with emissions surpassing those of billionaires like Mark Zuckerberg, Kim Kardashian, and Hollywood celebrities. Charles stated that this was because his private jet was high-end enough to be leased to private clients through a third-party company. He mentioned that his frequent clients include the rock band Metallica and Hollywood superstar Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

In a video, Charles jokingly said, "My personal energy consumption may be quite high, not only because I have a jet but also because I have a big ranch in Wyoming with 500 bison."

A Controversial Blockchain Pioneer with a Checkered Resume?

In August of last year, before Robert F. Kennedy Jr. withdrew from the election, he conducted an interview with Charles. The broadcast sparked significant criticism before airing, with many people complaining that RFK Jr. should not engage with a "fraud."

With fame comes controversy, and Charles Hoskinson has always been mired in it. In terms of his personal history, well-known crypto journalist Laura Shin in her in-depth exploration of Bitcoin's early development history in the book "The Cryptopian" has criticized and questioned Charles. The book points out that there is no evidence that Hoskinson pursued a doctoral degree and that his highest degree may only be a bachelor's. Additionally, Laura also accused Charles of embellishing his resume, falsely claiming connections to the CIA and DARPA, with the veracity of these claims remaining dubious.

Faced with skepticism, Charles sarcastically remarked on social media: "This book is a nice work of fiction, but surpassing Tolkien (author of 'The Hobbit' and 'The Lord of the Rings') and George R. R. Martin (author of 'A Song of Ice and Fire') might be a bit difficult." Laura immediately fired back, emphasizing that all her content has undergone rigorous fact-checking.

Controversies aside, the currently trending Cardano continues to develop, although its technical prowess and market positioning are still subject to various discussions. And Charles, as a key figure in the blockchain industry, regardless of whether his past boasts are true or not, regardless of whether his choices are correct, unquestionably, his story has already become an important chapter in the crypto world.

Original Article Link