- Charles Hoskinson denies claims of misusing 318M ADA during the 2021 Allegra hard fork.
- IOG plans to publish an audit report after backlash over the $600M ADA treasury controversy.
- Hoskinson says unclaimed ADA was redeemed or donated, calls the accusations deeply hurtful.
Charles Hoskinson, founder of Cardano, is facing renewed pressure over claims he misused $600 million in ADA tokens. The allegations came from NFT artist Masato Alexander, who raised concerns about a 318 million ADA transfer in 2021. He claims Hoskinson used a “genesis key” to alter the Cardano ledger during the Allegra hard fork.
The transaction appeared in October 2021 as a Move Instantaneous Rewards (MIR) operation. It reportedly moved ADA from reserve pools into staking and treasury allocations. Masato and other critics pointed to this as evidence of a lack of transparency. They questioned how unclaimed ADA was handled by Input Output Global (IOG), the firm behind Cardano.
Hoskinson responded on May 7 via a post on X, denying any wrongdoing. He said ADA redemptions stayed open for three more years after the MIR transaction. He added that most of the 350 million ADA involved had been claimed by original buyers over seven years. The remaining unclaimed tokens, he said, were later donated to Intersect.
Intersect is a decentralized body involved in Cardano’s governance model. Hoskinson said IOG never took ADA from the treasury or reserve pools. He called the accusations false and hurtful, saying the claims deeply affected him.
To address the issue, IOG is preparing an official audit report. The audit will focus on transactions around the Allegra hard fork. Hoskinson stated this report would soon be made public to clear the confusion. Some Cardano supporters welcomed the promise of an audit, but others continued to press for independent reviews.
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On May 19, Hoskinson expressed disappointment over the community’s reaction, saying he no longer felt trusted by many long-time supporters. As a result, he plans to hand over his personal X account to a media team and change the format of his AMAs and online interactions.
Earlier in April, after Paris Blockchain Week 2025, Hoskinson commented on Cardano’s treasury strategy. He said 2025 would serve as a transition year toward more structured financial processes. He noted that Cardano was in a competitive environment and should focus on adoption and performance upgrades.
Despite the audit announcement, debate continues within the Cardano community. Many await the upcoming audit for clarity and closure. Hoskinson has not given a date for its release.
