Emily Walker
During his recent livestream titled “Cargo Cults and the Reality of Crypto,” Charles Hoskinson, the founder of Cardano, expressed his views on the current landscape of digital assets, community dynamics, and legal issues affecting the industry. His talk covered the historical progression of the sector, the fate of once-relevant projects, and the sometimes problematic culture surrounding specific tokens.
Insights from the Cardano Founder on HEX
Speaking from his farm in Colorado, Hoskinson shared his enthusiasm about nearing the end of construction on his property. He swiftly transitioned to a broader examination of the cryptocurrency market, highlighting the existence of vast numbers of cryptocurrency projects, many of which are regularly introduced while others gradually disappear or re-emerge.
“There are likely over 30,000 cryptocurrency projects out there,” he remarked. “At any time, we focus on about 50 to 100 interesting and innovative projects.” He classified most projects into three groups: those that have failed or are fading (e.g., Peercoin, NXT, Feathercoin), outright scams (e.g., BitConnect, Celsius, Luna), and a third category he referred to as “curiosities,” which feature unconventional communities and unique strategies in tokenomics, culture, or marketing.
In his analysis of the “curiosities,” Hoskinson highlighted HEX and PulseChain, noting that members of these communities have frequently asked for his thoughts during Ask Me Anything (AMA) sessions. “In nearly every AMA I’ve conducted for the past five years, there’s someone asking, ‘What’s your opinion on Richard Heart? What do you think of PulseChain? What about Hex?’”
He shared that, in practical terms, he has little interest in these projects: “I don’t know much about it beyond Robert Hart’s extravagant lifestyle and his popular YouTube channel.”
Without making a judgment of guilt, Hoskinson pointed out that the SEC has filed a personal case against Richard Hart for alleged fraud, claiming misappropriation of $12.1 million. He compared this to ongoing SEC investigations of companies like Coinbase, Binance, and Kraken, which focus primarily on whether specific assets qualify as securities:
“Cases like Richard’s are distinct and will continue,” he noted, emphasizing that the SEC’s complaint relates to personal wrongdoing and misuse of funds, not merely token classification.
Hoskinson also mentioned the existence of an Interpol Red Notice concerning Hart, alongside accusations of tax evasion in Finland and a related assault case. He suggested that these matters might transcend civil issues and lead to involvement from the IRS and the U.S. Department of Justice regarding criminal implications.
“An Interpol red notice is a fact that cannot be disputed,” Hoskinson stated, but acknowledged that some within these communities view the allegations as fabricated.
After discussing these issues, Hoskinson mentioned being inundated with negative comments and tweets from some supporters of PulseChain and HEX, suggesting their hostile behavior ultimately hindered any potential for collaboration: “You’re achieving nothing through that kind of aggression. All you’ve done is eliminate any interest I had in exploring your ecosystem.”
He also drew parallels with other crypto figures who foster aggressive communities, comparing the situation with Craig Wright and Bitcoin SV (BSV): “We all observed it with Craig in the BSV community. Reflect on it: how many people are excited to build their next project on BSV today?”
In closing, Hoskinson offered what he called “unsolicited advice,” encouraging these communities to reflect on the type of ecosystems they wish to cultivate, separate from their founders, and whether their current behavior will encourage collaboration or alienate potential allies. “If you genuinely represent a decentralized cryptocurrency, you should be self-governing and autonomous from your founder,” he asserted. “You need to consider what kind of ecosystem you aspire to be.”
Despite his critical stance, Hoskinson wished success to these communities, reaffirming that Cardano intends to remain neutral and uninvolved: “I have no objections to anyone in the PulseChain or Hex community […] I have no interest in your ecosystem,” he stated, emphasizing that he would not further engage with the topic.
At the time of writing, Cardano was valued at $0.95.