Cardano Drama: $600 Million Smear or Just a Bad Ethereum Joke? 😂

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In the grand theater of cryptocurrency, a most curious spectacle unfolds, as the illustrious Charles Hoskinson finds himself embroiled in a public spat with the enigmatic non-fungible-token artist, Masato Alexander. The latter has made the audacious claim that our dear Cardano founder, in a moment of questionable discretion, redirected a staggering 318 million ADA—valued at a princely $619 million during the tumultuous Allegra hard fork of 2021—into the hallowed reserves of Cardano. Oh, the drama! 🎭

“So, let me get this straight,” Hoskinson quipped late Wednesday on X, “the defamation was merely a ploy to enhance visibility for an Ethereum project? You truly can’t make this stuff up!” Attached to his missive was a screenshot of a private chat where Alexander candidly confessed to “trying to lock in some funding for Akua and get some runway.” Ah, the irony! 😏

Not one to be outdone, Alexander swiftly retorted, “Do you really want to be sharing DMs, Charles? Add these to the pile!” This exchange opened a Pandora’s box, revealing a second, previously concealed conversation. In this tête-à-tête, Phil Harman, the chief executive of Anastasia Labs and a long-time Cardano developer, inquired whether a Cardano version of Akua might be feasible. Harman later expressed his dismay at the public exposure of their discussion: “What purpose does it serve to release these DMs where I was merely offering constructive advice about your dApp? Sharing this as a gotcha is, quite frankly, embarrassing.”

Ah, Akua! The project for which Alexander seeks funding is described in a white paper dated February 28, 2025, as “a novel approach to prediction markets focused on natural-disaster risk management.” Starting with earthquakes, it promises to expand to other phenomena. The architecture is designed for EVM compatibility, a detail that Lucas, a community engineer from Cardano, seized upon to argue that Alexander’s accusations were nothing more than a marketing ploy: “Monad is attempting to launch an ETH dapp, and this is his way of garnering attention from that crowd. He is financially motivated and likely lacks genuine integrity.”

Hoskinson, ever the astute observer, echoed this sentiment, branding the entire episode as a smear campaign aimed at courting Ethereum investors. He has even threatened legal action and commissioned an independent audit of the disputed treasury transactions, asserting that over 99.8% of the original vouchers were redeemed, with the remaining balance—approximately 18-24 million ADA—ultimately donated to Intersect, the new member-based governance body. Quite the charitable act, wouldn’t you say? 🙄

Why The Cardano Token Vouchers Were Swept

In a more extensive post on X, Hoskinson revisited the mechanics of the 2021 voucher sweep, arguing that many elderly Japanese retail buyers had struggled with the original redemption process. “There was a commercial liability for completing the redemption,” he explained. “If the buyer couldn’t reasonably use that method, there was a moral obligation to change the redemption mechanism.” He added that two of the three genesis key-holders had to sign off on the hard-fork upgrade that removed the unredeemed addresses. A veritable labyrinth of bureaucracy! 🌀

Hoskinson insists that no ADA was “stolen,” dismissing the narrative as “absurd, goal-post-moving doublespeak” and condemning media headlines that suggested otherwise. In stark contrast, Alexander likens the voucher sweep to a unilateral rewriting of history, depriving early investors of their coins, claiming that only about $7 million of the swept funds have resurfaced at Intersect. A tale as old as time, it seems! 📜

As reported by Bitcoinist, the ADA voucher redemption audit by the esteemed global law firm McDermott Will & Emery and the audit heavyweight BDO will provide a definitive answer when completed. The publication date remains shrouded in mystery.

At press time, ADA traded at a modest $0.7889. The saga continues! 📈

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2025-05-22 18:19