Charles Hoskinson breaks the silence: Cardano faces its biggest redefinition in a decade

Source: CritpoTendencia Original Title: Charles Hoskinson breaks the silence: Cardano faces its biggest redefinition in a decade Original Link: Charles Hoskinson live-streamed again from Colorado to address one of the most uncomfortable and persistent topics within the ecosystem: Genesis ADA, community expectations, and the real role of founding entities.

What started as a technical clarification transformed into something bigger: a political manifesto about the past, present, and future of Cardano.

Far from diplomacy, Hoskinson spoke with raw honesty. For him, part of the community is trapped in a misunderstanding of the foundational agreement. And even more: that obsession is holding back the evolution of the ecosystem towards its next stage.

Genesis ADA: a closed, definitive, and non-negotiable chapter

The central point of the live was clear: Genesis ADA is not touched, not redistributed, and not debated again.

Hoskinson explained that:

• In the early days of Cardano, IO, EMURGO, and the Foundation received ADA valued at approximately $8 million and $36 million in BTC, according to the price of the crowd sale.
• ADA was worth between 4 and 8 cents in 2017–2020.
• With those funds -around $44 million in total- an ecosystem was built that reached a value of over $100 billion at its peak and maintains over $15 billion today.

According to him, the idea that this capital should pay current integrations or cover needs for 2025 is unfounded. The agreement was simple: IO took the risk, built the protocol, and fulfilled its part of the deal with the initial buyers. End of story.

Any attempt to retroactively reinterpret Genesis ADA is, according to Hoskinson, a historical distortion fueled by a noisy minority.

What is really at stake: who pays for Cardano's evolutionary leap

The conflict is not the past, but the future.

Hoskinson stated bluntly: The ecosystem needs deep integrations that are extremely costly. And although 70 million ADA is being requested, that amount doesn't even cover the total cost of the integrations.

For this reason, Hoskinson explains that IO, EMURGO, the Midnight Foundation, and the other entities are willing to contribute their own resources, but no longer under the old scheme. They will do so within the Pentad: a new executive structure proposed for 2026 that unifies the five strongest actors in the ecosystem to coordinate decisions, finance integrations, and accelerate the growth of Cardano together.

The message is clear: Cardano needs a clear mandate to build, or its DeFi ecosystem will stagnate.

Emotional tension: community vs. founding entities

Hoskinson also confronted a recurring contradiction: While part of the community demands that IO pays everything, the community treasury has over one billion ADA accumulated thanks to the original design of the system.

For him, asking the founding entities to finance a current expansion with past funds is irrational. Especially when -as he recalled- 99.9% of crypto projects fail, and Cardano survived a decade thanks to those same entities.

2026 as a breaking point: a philosophical and operational reset

The live revealed something bigger than a technical explanation: Cardano is entering a process of internal reboot.

According to Hoskinson:

• The foundational stage has ended.
• The Genesis ADA is a matter closed forever.
• The future depends on accepting a new structure (the Pentad) capable of negotiating with industry giants.
• The ecosystem must decide whether it wants to grow or remain divided in eternal debates about 2015.

For him, what is at stake is not a fund, but a direction: to become a competitive DeFi ecosystem or die a slow death.

The final reflection

Hoskinson's message was neither technical nor defensive: it was an attempt to reorder the social contract of Cardano. It marked the definitive end of the foundational stage and made it clear that Genesis ADA belongs to the past and cannot be rewritten.

Now the decision rests with the community: to accept a new structure - the Pentad - capable of coordinating resources, negotiating integrations, and building a competitive ecosystem, or to get caught up in debates that only consume energy.

Hoskinson claimed the work of the founding entities, recalled that with just over $40 million an ecosystem was created that survived a decade and reached a value of more than $100 billion, and emphasized that there is no possible future if Cardano remains divided.

For him, 2026 is a restart opportunity: a moment to leave behind the ghosts of the genesis and decide whether the project wants to grow or resign itself to losing relevance. The past is already closed. The course, on the other hand, is still open. And what is decided now will define the Cardano that we will see in the next ten years.