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20 May 2025, 04:26
Cardano holds key support amid ADA misappropriation claims — will ADA crash when audit results are released?
Despite controversy surrounding recent claims of misappropriation, Cardano is holding firm around the $0.74 support. The token is up 1.4% in the past 24 hours, though it remains down 5.6% over the past week. With a 24-hour trading volume of $856 million, down 15% from the previous day, market activity has slowed but remains steady. Cardano ( ADA ) is still far from its all-time high of $3.09, set in September 2021, sitting nearly 75% lower today. The recent developments come in the shadow of serious allegations against Cardano’s founder, Charles Hoskinson, who has come under fire after accusations emerged claiming he misused access to the Cardano network. The claims, made by NFT artist Masato Alexander on May 7, allege Hoskinson used privileged access to move about 318 million ADA, worth roughly $619 million at the time, during the 2021 Allegra hard fork. Alexander pointed to a two-step process that involved wiping out unclaimed ADA from the 2017 initial coin offering and using a special Move Instantaneous Rewards transaction to shift funds under the control of Hoskinson or Input Output Global, the company behind Cardano. In 2021, Charles Hoskinson unilaterally used his genesis keys to REWRITE the Cardano ledger and take control of ₳318m ($619m) By comparison, when the DAO hack happened in 2016, the Ethereum community forked over $60m. One of the largest ledger reorgs in blockchain history: 🧵 — masato_alexander (@masatoalexander) May 7, 2025 He also questioned the transparency of these movements, pointing out that only a small amount, roughly $7 million, was formally given to the Cardano governance group Intersect. Alexander likened the incident to the 2016 Ethereum DAO hack but argued Cardano lacked the same level of community oversight. You might also like: Cardano price has crashed, but a rare pattern, whale buying, points to a rebound Hoskinson has strongly denied the claims, calling them false and damaging. He stated that over 99.8% of ADA from the 2017 token sale was redeemed, and the remaining unclaimed funds, around 18 to 24 million ADA, were later donated to Intersect. According to Hoskinson, the October 2021 transaction was part of an automated process to prevent unredeemed tokens from becoming unusable. He also promised a full audit of the treasury transactions to be released by the Cardano Foundation. Following the backlash, Hoskinson said he was “deeply hurt” by the community’s reaction and would likely step back from social media. The one advantage in a crisis or an event that tests people is that you rapidly get to see who your friends truly are and who's fairweather. I'd like to thank all the support and kind words both privately and publicly. The downside is that I believe there will be a cold… — Charles Hoskinson (@IOHK_Charles) May 18, 2025 Despite the controversy, technical indicators point to ADA being in a consolidation phase at the moment. At 51.7, the relative strength index indicates neutral momentum. The MACD has a negative crossover and little upward pressure, making it somewhat bearish. ADA price analysis. Credit: crypto.news Looking at moving averages, the 10-day and 20-day EMAs and SMAs are currently acting as resistance, suggesting short-term selling pressure. Longer-term support is offered by the 30-, 50-, 100-, and 200-day moving averages, which are still trending upward. The key to stopping additional losses may lie in ADA’s ability to maintain its position above its 100-day EMA, which is at $0.73. ADA may move toward $0.78 or higher if bulls retake the 10-day EMA close to $0.76. If current support levels are not maintained, the price may drop below $0.72 and possibly reach $0.70 or even $0.68. Both sides are currently waiting for a catalyst, so the outlook is neutral. Read more: Brave Wallet expands support with Cardano integration
20 May 2025, 00:15
Cardano Price Forecast: Can ADA’s Bullish Momentum Shrug-Off Fraud Allegations Facing Charles Hoskinson?
The post Cardano Price Forecast: Can ADA’s Bullish Momentum Shrug-Off Fraud Allegations Facing Charles Hoskinson? appeared first on Coinpedia Fintech News Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson faces investigation as on-chain analysts allege major ADA fraud. ADA price has signaled bullish sentiment catalyzed by increased adoption from institutional investors. Cardano (ADA) price has moved in tandem with the wider altcoin market, amid anticipated altseason. The large-cap altcoin, with a fully diluted valuation of $33 billion and a 24-hour average traded volume of about $854 million, dropped around 10 percent in the past seven days to trade about $0.74 on Monday, during the late-North American trading session. Nonetheless, ADA price has been in a recovery mode in the past few weeks akin to Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). Moreover, on-chain data analysis shows an increased capital inflow to crypto investment products, fueled by the geo-political and economic uncertainty. Cardano Founder Under Scrutiny for Fraud Claims The Cardano network has found itself between thin ice as some on-chain analysis suggests a trust-misuse by founder Charles Hoskinson. According to Masato Alexander, an NFT artist, Hoskinson manipulated the Cardano network, during the 2021 Allegra hard fork, to seize control of 318 million ADA coins. Alexander noted that Hoskinson defrauded early investors by using Genesis keys to rewrite the Cardano ledger, by redirecting unclaimed tokens from the 2017 Initial Coin Offering (ICO) into Cardano’s reserves without community approval. “From the data we have, we know that a significant sum, totaling 318,200,635,000,000 Lovelace, which translates to 318,200,635 ADA, departed from our active set. These UTxOs, residing in 465 distinct addresses, played their part, however brief or long, in the immutable story of Cardano,” Alexander noted . Although the top Cardano team has denied the allegations including Hoskinson, an on-chain investigation is expected to be conducted in the coming weeks. Mid-term Expectations for ADA Price In the daily timeframe, ADA price has established a rising trend in the past few weeks. After breaking out of a macro-falling wedge pattern in April, ADA price has gradually gained bullish momentum characterized by higher highs and higher lows. In the four-hour time frame, ADA price has formed a falling symmetrical parallel channel, likely a continuation pattern. A consistent close above the upper border of the falling channel will set the precedent of a fresh rally towards the short term target about $1.14.
19 May 2025, 19:50
Cardano Audit Probes $600M ADA Gap – Was Treasury Looted?
Key Takeaways: Artist Masato Alexander claims that a 2021 hard fork allowed Cardano’s team to move 318M ADA from presale wallets to reserves. Intersect confirms it received only $7M, far short of the $619M in question. The controversy rekindles old doubts about Cardano’s early token distribution and governance mechanisms. The Cardano Foundation is preparing to release an audit of its treasury holdings after new allegations surfaced accusing founder Charles Hoskinson of misappropriating over $600 million worth of ADA tokens. The controversy centers on a 2021 transaction during the Allegra hard fork, in which 318 million ADA, valued at around $619 million at the time, was moved from presale addresses into the Cardano reserves. The move has also sparked accusations of unilateral control and manipulation of the blockchain ledger. Cardano Faces Tough Questions Over ADA Transfers Non-fungible-token artist Masato Alexander brought the claims to light, alleging that Hoskinson used a “genesis key” to rewrite the ledger. Alexander described the hard fork as a “two-step maneuver” that effectively erased the original UTxOs holding the ADA and reallocated them to the reserves controlled by Hoskinson’s team. In 2021, Charles Hoskinson unilaterally used his genesis keys to REWRITE the Cardano ledger and take control of ₳318m ($619m) By comparison, when the DAO hack happened in 2016, the Ethereum community forked over $60m. One of the largest ledger reorgs in blockchain history: — masato_alexander (@masatoalexander) May 7, 2025 Alexander also pointed to a second transaction involving Cardano’s “Move Instantaneous Rewards” (MIR) feature, which was used to withdraw the funds from reserves. He argued that most of the original token holders never reclaimed their funds and questioned how such a large sum could be moved without the consent of the original buyers. Hoskinson addressed the claims on May 6, stating that the “vast majority” of the funds were either redeemed by original ICO buyers or donated to Intersect, the member-based organization involved in Cardano’s governance. According to Intersect’s interim executive director, the group received around $7 million in funding, far less than the alleged $318 million . It’s unclear how much, if any, of the withdrawn funds went elsewhere. Critics have also raised concerns about the lack of transparency surrounding the funds, which were reportedly staked and earned an additional 25 million ADA in rewards. Hoskinson expressed frustration over the accusations and what he described as a lack of trust from the community. “It’s not possible for anyone to not take this personally,” he wrote on X . The one advantage in a crisis or an event that tests people is that you rapidly get to see who your friends truly are and who's fairweather. I'd like to thank all the support and kind words both privately and publicly. The downside is that I believe there will be a cold… — Charles Hoskinson (@IOHK_Charles) May 18, 2025 “To not be given the benefit of the doubt here without strong evidence to the contrary means I don’t have the connection I thought with some people,” Hoskinson stated. He added that the experience has left him “deeply hurt” and he plans to change how he interacts publicly. “After the audit report comes out, I’m going to likely turn my X account over to a media team and change the format of my AMAs and X spaces.” The upcoming audit is expected to provide clarity on the movement and use of the funds, but it may not be enough to resolve the community’s concerns. For many, the controversy has reopened old wounds about Cardano’s early token distribution and raised broader questions about accountability in blockchain governance. Cardano Market Dips as Hoskinson Defends Vision Amid Treasury Concerns ADA slipped 4.6% to $0.7352 following allegations of treasury mismanagement, with trading volume rising by over 27% to $1.05 billion in 24 hours, according to CoinGecko . Source: CoinGecko In a recent interview, Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson responded to criticism by reaffirming the network’s long-term goals and acknowledging its current limitations. “We know what’s wrong, and we know how to fix it,” he said, addressing growing concerns from both the investor community and broader crypto space. Cardano has been repeatedly criticized for trailing behind in key areas like DeFi growth and stablecoin adoption. Its DeFi total value locked remains below $320 million, far behind Solana’s $7 billion. Additionally, the network has yet to attract major stablecoins like USDT or USDC or build momentum around meme coin communities that have energized rival chains. Still, Hoskinson pointed to Cardano’s $1.5 billion treasury as a major advantage and positioned the network as the ideal foundation for Bitcoin DeFi. “It’s the biggest opportunity of our lives,” he said. “And Cardano’s architecture is the best to unlock it.” The post Cardano Audit Probes $600M ADA Gap – Was Treasury Looted? appeared first on Cryptonews .
19 May 2025, 19:30
Cardano (ADA) Founder Responds to Allegations of Stealing $600 Million Worth of ADA
Cardano (ADA) founder Charles Hoskinson has categorically denied allegations that $600 million worth of ADA (approximately $318 million ADA) was misappropriated. Hoskinson announced that he will publish a comprehensive audit report regarding the transfer made during the 2021 Allegra hard fork that was at the center of the controversy. NFT artist Masato Alexander claimed that Hoskinson unilaterally used “genesis” keys to manipulate the Cardano ledger in 2021 and took control of 318 million ADA. Alexander compared the incident to Ethereum’s DAO hack in 2016, saying, “The Ethereum community did a hard fork for a $60 million hack; here, there is a $619 million intervention.” Responding to the allegations, Hoskinson said, “Input Output Global never allocated 350 million ADAs. This is a complete lie.” He stated that the majority of the ADAs in question were claimed by the original recipients over a seven-year period, while the rest was donated to an organization called Intersect. Related News: Why Did the Rally in Ethereum Stop? Expert Analyst Predicts the Future of Bitcoin and ETH in the Coming Days Hoskinson made the following statement in his statement: “No matter how many times people lie, the truth remains the same. The vast majority of those 350 million ADAs were reclaimed by their original owners within seven years. The rest were donated to Intersect after the legal deadline.” Hoskinson stated that the events deeply affected him and that he was disappointed that some people in the Cardano community did not trust him: “In a crisis, you quickly learn who your real friends are and who your just ‘good-weather friends’ are. The fact that some people treated me this way without providing any proof showed me that the bond between us was not as strong as I thought. This really upset me.” Hoskinson also announced that he plans to hand over his social media accounts to a media team and change the format of his regular AMA (Ask Me Anything) posts and X (formerly Twitter) interactions following the release of the audit report. Charles Hoskinson concluded his remarks by stating that he will still be present at events and will not give up on one-on-one contact with the community. *This is not investment advice. Continue Reading: Cardano (ADA) Founder Responds to Allegations of Stealing $600 Million Worth of ADA
19 May 2025, 19:08
Cardano’s Charles Hoskinson denies misusing $600M in ADA, promises full audit
Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson is pushing back after being accused of rewriting the network ledger to seize control of $619 million worth of ADA. The allegations, first raised by Masato Alexander, an NFT creator, claim Charles used a “genesis key” during the 2021 Allegra hard fork to manipulate ADA token flows. But according to a statement from Charles on Monday, the Cardano Foundation is preparing an official audit report to address the issue directly. Masato had pointed to a specific transaction dated October 24, 2021, known as Move Instantaneous Rewards (MIR), showing 318 million ADA moved from reserves into staking or treasury pools. The transaction was flagged on Cardanoscan, fueling suspicion that the funds were quietly redirected. Critics believe the action wasn’t authorized or transparent, raising questions about how Cardano handles unclaimed or dormant ADA. Audit underway as Charles Hoskinson pushes back Responding to the backlash on May 6, Charles said the claims were false and misleading. He explained that ADA redemptions remained open for another three years after the MIR transaction. He added that the “vast majority of that 350 million ADA was redeemed by the original buyers,” and the whole redemption process stretched across seven years. Charles wrote on X, “IOG never gave itself 350 million unclaimed ADA. This is a lie. The vast majority was claimed, and the remaining that was forfeited after seven years of waiting was donated to Intersect.” Intersect is the decentralized governance body tied to Cardano’s development. While some users welcomed the explanation, others demanded independent verification. On May 18, Charles said he’s “deeply hurt” by the mistrust and plans to step back from running his X account, possibly handing it off to a media team. He also said he’ll change how he runs AMAs and X spaces moving forward. Charles confirmed that an audit report tied to the Allegra hard fork is being prepared and will be released soon. In an X post from April after the Paris Blockchain Week 2025, Charles said : “Cardano has a huge stockpile of Ada in its treasury, annual inflows, and is in a hypercompetitive industry. We’ve always known that 2025 would be an interim budget year to get us to a regular annual process. We shouldn’t expect perfection nor squeeze the people who have been building our ecosystem for years. I want Cardano to win. No one outside of the Cardanoverse cares about this stuff. They care about whether we win with Bitcoin Defi. They care if we ship Leios and beat the performance of Solana. They care about our adoption.” KEY Difference Wire : the secret tool crypto projects use to get guaranteed media coverage
19 May 2025, 13:09
Hoskinson promises audit, is ‘deeply hurt’ by $600M Cardano treasury claims
The Cardano Foundation is preparing to release an audit report on its treasury holdings after fresh allegations surfaced claiming misappropriation of roughly $600 million worth of ADA tokens. Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson is facing renewed scrutiny from community members, including non-fungible token artist Masato Alexander, who alleged that Hoskinson manipulated the Cardano ledger using a “genesis key to rewrite it and take control” of $619 million worth of Cardano ( ADA ) during the network’s 2021 Allegra hard fork. Source: Masato Alexander Related: Nasdaq-listed GDC plans to buy Bitcoin and TRUMP memecoin for $300M A secondary, “Move Instantneous Rewards” transaction dated Oct. 24, 2021, shows a transfer of over 318 million ADA tokens, which enabled the funds to flow from reserve pools into staking or treasury allocations. 318 million ADA MIR transactions. Source: Cardanoscan However, ADA redemptions stayed open for another three years after the transaction, responded Hoskinson, adding that the “vast majority of that 350 million ADA was redeemed by the original buyers,” a process that took a total of seven years. Charles Hoskinson. Source: Cointelegraph “IOG never gave itself 350 million unclaimed ADA. This is a lie. The vast majority was claimed, and the remaining that was forfeited after seven years of waiting was donated to Intersect,” Hoskinson wrote in a May 6 X post . Related: Solana co-founder proposes meta chain to fix blockchain fragmentation Hoskinson “deeply hurt” by community reaction Hoskinson confirmed that an audit report related to the hard fork is in progress, but added that he is “deeply hurt” by the community’s mistrust after the allegations. “To not be given the benefit of the doubt here without strong evidence to the contrary means I don’t have the connection I thought with some people,” Hoskinson wrote in a May 18 X post, adding: “After the audit report comes out, I’m going to likely turn my X account over to a media team and change the format of my AMAs and X spaces.” Hoskinson, who was also one of the co-founders of Ethereum, is among the leading figures in blockchain development. Speaking at Paris Blockchain Week 2025 , Hoskinson emphasized the need for collaborative economics in the crypto industry to counter growing competition from traditional tech firms entering the blockchain space due to growing regulatory clarity. Magazine: Bitcoin eyes ‘crazy numbers,’ JD Vance set for Bitcoin talk: Hodler’s Digest