‘Roadmap is Complete,' Cardano Founder Charles Hoskinson Says
Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson declared the network's roadmap complete during a YouTube livestream, defending himself against disgruntled investors as ADA sits down more than 94% from its all-time high.
The declaration came during a YouTube livestream Saturday where Hoskinson sparred with disgruntled investors. One viewer, named shevilkid1738, challenged Hoskinson by claiming he'd promised Cardano would overtake Bitcoin, to which the founder responded there was no evidence he ever made such a promise.
"I never promised that. I said I'd love for it to happen, and I believe that Cardano is a better store of value than Bitcoin is for a variety of reasons," Hoskinson said. "I don't promise price appreciation, or people overturning things. I say it's absolutely possible."
The viewer later provided a quote where Hoskinson said he "thinks" Cardano is "probably" going to become the biggest cryptocurrency in the world. Hoskinson highlighted the word "think" and explained that the network is now decentralized and doesn't rely on him as a founder.
Complete Roadmap
When pressed about his responsibility to investors, Hoskinson stated: "The roadmap is complete. Everything I said is going to be built has been built. It reached four times the value of Honda. There's millions of people that have used it, and millions of people continue to use it."
It is self-determining and self-governing, with its ability to pick and choose its own leaders without my consent.
Cardano's roadmap consisted of five eras: Byron (network launch, 2017), Shelley (staking, 2020), Goguen (smart contracts, 2021), Basho (scaling, 2022), and Voltaire (governance, 2024). The final piece came with the Plomin hard fork in January 2025, which gave ADA holders "real voting power" and marked the transition to "full decentralized governance."
Investor Concerns
Hoskinson ultimately suggested that investors' issues are financial rather than technical. "You want me to pump your bags. That's what you're really saying. The job's not done till it's pumped," he stated. "But guess what? It's never done then, because somebody comes in at $3 ADA, and then expects it to be five."
ADA hit an all-time high of $3.09 in 2021 and has been declining since, reaching a low of $0.25 in 2023 before briefly pumping 384% to $1.21 by end of 2024. Since then, its price has fallen 86% to $0.17. "Apparently, I have to go pump your bags, and if I don't, I'm a scammer," Hoskinson said. "Would you sign up for that deal? Would any human being sign up for that? I thought slavery was made illegal."
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