- Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson claims the original roadmap was completed in 2020, sparking backlash from the community over unmet scalability goals like Hydra and Leios.
- The controversy also highlights growing tensions over Cardano’s governance, funding model, and long-term development strategy.
Cardano sparked intense debate this week after its founder, Charles Hoskinson, declared that the blockchain was “completed” as of 2020. His statement, referring to the conclusion of the original contract with Input Output Global (IOG) that began in 2015, ignited backlash from community members who argue that several key promises remain unfulfilled. Hoskinson also revealed that he has been working on Cardano without financial compensation since the contract’s expiration.
Cardano’s Scalability Challenge: Hydra, Leios, and Unmet Expectations
Hoskinson emphasized that scaling milestones laid out in Cardano’s original roadmap had been achieved, noting that the project has moved on to more advanced solutions like Hydra and Leios. However, many in the community push back, pointing out that these features haven’t been fully implemented on mainnet. Critics argue that Cardano still lacks the transaction throughput needed for mass adoption, with some pointing to Solana’s 65,000 TPS benchmark as a glaring contrast.
Community Pushback and Funding Frictions
The backlash wasn’t just about technical milestones. The conversation soon shifted to Cardano’s governance and funding. Hoskinson warned that without stable funding, the team might have to downsize or relocate operations to lower-cost regions. He also dismissed suggestions of opening development to competitive bidding, arguing it could undermine Western-based developers due to cost pressures.
“I’m not going to lay off hundreds of employees to compete with low-cost bids,” Hoskinson stated firmly. “We build cryptocurrencies—we’re not a time-and-material firm.”
Governance Tensions Continue to Simmer
This isn’t the first time Hoskinson has clashed with the broader Cardano ecosystem. He has previously criticized the Cardano Foundation’s governance model and budget handling. Now, with debates intensifying around a new Cardano constitution and funding transparency, the rift appears to be growing deeper.
As the dust settles, ADA trades at $0.68—down nearly 2% in 24 hours—underscoring the uneasy mood among investors and supporters. Whether Hoskinson’s declaration of “completion” holds up to community scrutiny remains to be seen.
