'I Have Plenty of Money': Cardano Creator Shuts Down $1.5 Billion Treasury Conspiracy
2025-01-31
Category: None

Another wave of controversy is making its way through the Cardano ADAUSD community, this time aimed at Charles Hoskinson himself. The talk? Claims that he is out of money and eyeing the Cardano treasury for a bailout. The reality? The treasury, sitting at around 1.5 billion ADA worth about $1.5 billion, is not even accessible yet — not until the on-chain constitution is in place.
Skeptics are not convinced. They point to governance loopholes, saying anyone could technically submit a governance action to manipulate the Net Change Limit and drain the treasury. 
Then there is the question of administrators — who are they, exactly? Nowhere in the constitution is the role defined, yet they hold key decision-making power. If someone can be an SPO, a DRep and a Constitutional Committee member all at once, where is the system of checks and balances?
More questions than answers
The confusion does not stop there. Treasury withdrawals must be for a “Cardano Blockchain budget,” but there is also something called an “ecosystem budget,” and no one seems sure what that actually covers.
If interpreted narrowly, funding for governance tooling, research and even marketing might be blocked. If interpreted broadly? It could open doors for misuse.
Then, there is the issue of legal protection — or lack thereof. Governance participants might have to reveal their identities, making them vulnerable. Yet, there is no clear guidance in the constitution on how to safeguard against legal risks.
Hoskinson is not having it. He shut down the rumors, making it clear that he has more than enough money and zero interest in treasury funds. He also dismissed claims of a Midnight token presale, calling it outright false. 
I have plenty of money. More than you'll have in a 100 lifetimes. You'd be a lot more effective if you didn't hide behind someone else's face and had the courage to post under your own name.
As for governance, he insists that major decisions require community approval, and he is not about to single-handedly dictate the blockchain’s future.
Some in the community are still uneasy. If a system is built on decentralization, why does it feel like a few key players have an outsized influence? The discussion is not over, and how the constitutional framework evolves will determine just how much of these concerns hold weight.