Hoskinson Demands Apology Over $600 Million Theft Allegations

Hoskinson demands apology after audit clears him of $600M ADA theft allegations.

Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson criticized the Cardano Foundation after an audit reportedly cleared him of allegations of misappropriating $600 million in ADA.

“Where are my damn apologies?” the entrepreneur demanded during an interview in X Spaces.

In May, a member of the blockchain project’s community claimed that Hoskinson used a genesis key to alter the ledger and transfer 318 million tokens during the Allegra hard fork in 2021.

The Cardano founder immediately refuted these claims. According to him, the coins in question were “redeemed by the original buyers.” He also criticized the Cardano Foundation for its apparent silence regarding the accusations. Hoskinson announced the publication of an audit report related to the hard fork.

On September 4, the Cardano Foundation responded to the audit results conducted by BDO and McDermott, Will & Schulte.

We welcome the publication of the investigative report on the ada Voucher Program released yesterday by @InputOutputHK.

We are happy that it confirms the redemption process was conducted correctly and diligently.

We further appreciate the clarity provided on the use of the…

— Cardano Foundation (@Cardano_CF) September 4, 2025

“We welcome yesterday’s publication of the investigative report on the ADA voucher program. We are pleased that it confirms the redemption process was conducted correctly and diligently. […] We hope this outcome brings peace to the community and helps Cardano move forward,” the foundation stated.

Hoskinson urged investors to hold the Cardano Foundation accountable by declaring a vote of no confidence or filing a class-action lawsuit to force the current board of directors to resign.

The non-profit organization behind the development of the Cardano ecosystem manages the project alongside Hoskinson’s IOG and Emurgo companies. The latter are commercial enterprises, leading to certain conflicts between the entities, acknowledged Cardano Foundation CEO Frederik Gregaard earlier.

Back in December 2024, Hoskinson agreed with the assertion that his relationship with the foundation’s leadership could be described as a “feud.”

As reported, on-chain investigator ZachXBT labeled Cardano, along with Ripple and Hedera, as “insider enrichment schemes,” comparing their operational model to financial pyramids.