Charles Hoskinson, from Cryptocurrency Idealist to Versatile Investor

Cardano(ADA) has been designated as a strategic reserve asset by the Trump administration, making its founder, Charles Hoskinson, once again a hot topic in the industry. Billionaire Charles Hoskinson is not just a blockchain technologist. As an early Bitcoin believer, a founding member of Ethereum, and the creator of Cardano, he has experienced a remarkable career shift in recent years.

From Bitcoin Faith to Blockchain Journey

During the 2008 financial crisis, Hoskinson studied mathematics and number theory at university while developing a deep interest in monetary policy. That year, he participated in Ron Paul’s campaign advocating for the abolition of the Federal Reserve, which led him to question the central banking system fundamentally.

Initially, Hoskinson was skeptical of Bitcoin. He believed that the success of currency depended not on technology but on adoption scale. However, in 2013, his perspective changed dramatically. He became convinced that Bitcoin could revolutionize not only money transfers but the entire financial system. He began mining directly and established an online education platform to teach about cryptocurrencies and monetary policy.

At that time, the Bitcoin community was small, and passionate individuals could quickly become core members. Seizing this opportunity, Hoskinson co-founded (Bitshares). However, differences in business philosophy with co-founder Daniel Larimer led him to leave. Conflicts arose over decision-making transparency, which Hoskinson believed was necessary due to venture capital involvement, while Larimer preferred an autocratic leadership style.

From Ethereum Early Member to Cardano Builder

In October 2013, Hoskinson began discussing a programming platform for blockchain applications with Vitalik Buterin, Anthony Di Iorio, and Myhaj Alisi. In January 2014, about 30 developers gathered at a beach hut during the Miami Bitcoin Conference to officially launch the Ethereum project. Hoskinson, appointed as the initial CEO, transformed from a cryptocurrency evangelist into an industry leader.

However, Ethereum’s rapid growth raised fundamental questions: should it be a for-profit model or a non-profit? Hoskinson argued for more capital to be raised, following Google’s example, but Vitalik and many team members preferred a non-profit model to maintain decentralization. Ultimately, disagreements led Hoskinson to leave, and he was stripped of the CEO position. At that time, Ethereum had been launched for only six months.

Later, Hoskinson acknowledged that Vitalik’s choice might have been correct, recognizing that Ethereum’s success depended on open-source ecosystems and community-driven development.

After leaving Ethereum, Hoskinson met his former colleague Jeremy Wood, who was considering pursuing a PhD. Together, they founded IOHK(Input Output Hong Kong), focusing on blockchain research and engineering. Starting with a few thousand dollars in investment, they secured contracts for multiple blockchain projects and received Bitcoin as compensation. Fortunately, as the Bitcoin market surged, IOHK accumulated sufficient capital, laying the foundation for Cardano.

In 2017, when establishing Cardano, Hoskinson firmly rejected venture capital investment, believing external funding would undermine the core principle of decentralization. IOHK sponsored research labs at the University of Edinburgh and Tokyo Institute of Technology, which ultimately led to the development of Cardano’s core consensus protocol, (Ouroboros).

Political Bets and Trump Card

In April 2024, Hoskinson announced support for presidential candidate (RFK Jr.), believing his liberal political philosophy aligns with his blockchain ideals. When Kennedy withdrew from the August primary and joined Trump’s camp, Hoskinson immediately shifted his support to Trump.

After Trump’s victory on November 9, 2024, Hoskinson announced via podcast that he would focus on working with the Trump administration to establish clear regulations for the cryptocurrency industry. Following this news, ADA’s price surged over 40% within 24 hours.

On March 2, 2025, Trump issued an executive order to increase strategic reserves of cryptocurrencies including XRP, SOL, and ADA. As a result, ADA skyrocketed from $0.65 to over $1.10. Interestingly, Hoskinson later revealed that he was not informed of this decision in advance. His absence from the White House crypto summit on March 8 suggests his political influence may be more limited than expected.

Free Entrepreneur: From Alien Exploration to Bison Ranch

After accumulating wealth through blockchain, Hoskinson’s investment interests diversified. In 2021, he donated $20 million to Carnegie Mellon University to establish the Hoskinson Mathematics Center. In 2023, he invested $1.5 million to travel with Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb to Papua New Guinea to search for extraterrestrial spacecraft. The metallic spheres they found were suspected by the American Astronomical Society to be likely human-made coal ash, but Hoskinson’s enthusiasm remained undeterred.

Owning an 11,000-acre ranch in Wyoming, Hoskinson breeds over 500 bison. To address local restaurant shortages, he opened Nesis Restaurant and Whiskey Lounge, emphasizing cryptocurrency payments.

A physician-turned-entrepreneur, Hoskinson invested $18 million in Gilead to open an anti-aging and regenerative medicine clinic. Recently, he has been working on genetically modified luminous plants, claiming they can sequester carbon and remove environmental pollution.

Meanwhile, a report states that Hoskinson’s private jet flew 562 hours in 2022, covering about 456,000 km—longer than the distance between the Moon and Earth—and generating more carbon emissions than Mark Zuckerberg and Kim Kardashian combined. He justifies this as a leasing operation with third-party companies, with Metallica and Dwayne Johnson as frequent clients.

Hero or Overhyped Resume in Controversy?

Cryptocurrency journalist Laura Shin harshly criticizes Hoskinson in her book The Cryptopian. She questions whether Hoskinson has a PhD, suggesting he may only hold a bachelor’s degree, and claims he falsely asserted connections with the CIA and DARPA.

Hoskinson cynically dismisses these claims, arguing that the book is not at the level of Tolkien or George R. R. Martin fiction. However, Laura counters that all her claims are thoroughly fact-checked.

As of January 2026, ADA’s price stands at $0.36, still a top cryptocurrency with a market cap of $13.15 billion, though not matching its past glory. Cardano lags behind other Layer 1 projects like Ethereum and Solana in trading volume and activity, earning it the label of a “zombie chain.” Nonetheless, Hoskinson’s influence and standing in the industry remain significant.

The role of Charles Hoskinson in blockchain history is complex and contradictory—an idealist and pragmatist, a technologist and capitalist, a figure at the center of controversy. Whether his choices are right or wrong remains debatable, but one thing is certain: the footprint he has left on the development of the cryptocurrency industry is indelible.