IOHK’s Charles Hoskinson Responds to Cardano Scam Allegations

IOHK CEO Charles Hoskinson has replied to critics calling Cardano a scam that has not been able to develop any smart contracts since its launch.

Baseless Allegations Drive Investors Away

Responding to comments made by Bankless podcast co-owner David Hoffman, Hoskinson noted that over the years, podcasters had used their platform to level baseless allegations on Cardano, calling it a “scam.” 

“It is one thing to say you’re skeptical [about Cardano]. It’s another to call [its developers] criminals,” Hoskinson tweeted yesterday.

He implied that baseless accusations like Hoffman’s comments are one of the reasons why several potential investors have refused to join the cryptocurrency bandwagon. 

“This is crypto in 2021. Figure out why so many people want nothing to do with it?” he said. 

Competition Between Ethereum & Cardano Rekindled

Hoffman’s recent shade has rekindled the rivalry between Ethereum and Cardano, which has lingered for years. 

Cardano was launched in 2015 by Hoskinson, who is also a co-founder of Ethereum. Hoskinson noted at the time that the Cardano blockchain would outperform Ethereum by creating a better smart contract platform. 

Six years down the line, Cardano is yet to deploy a single smart contract. However, the blockchain project is currently preparing for its next major upgrade that will enable smart contract capabilities. Hoskinson also hinted last month that the Cardano ecosystem will support NFT marketplaces as his team is currently negotiating with some of the top NFT-related protocols.

Ethereum, on the other hand, has been the widely accepted blockchain for smart contracts in the industry, with top organizations utilizing the blockchain for several purposes. Those include decentralized finance (DeFi) and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). 

Hoffman hopped on the debate, clearly advocating for Ethereum and stating its use cases in his podcast. 

While speaking in Ethereum’s favor, he talked about the upcoming EIP-1559 upgrade scheduled to launch later this year, which should provide fixes for some of the network problems, including high gas fees. 

As for Cardano, Hoffman said he is skeptical about the project because it has not lived up to expectations. He noted that all users can do on the Cardano network is to stake and send, adding that he would put on his skeptical hat and call the project “a blatant scam.”