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Charles Hoskinson, the founder of Cardano and CEO of Input Output (IO), sparked a public debate after criticizing the hype around the Canton Network on X.
Hoskinson said the network, backed by traditional financial institutions, is trying to catch up to what XRP and Midnight have already built, and argued that Canton does not fully understand what makes Web3 special.
Yuval Rooz, founder and CEO of Digital Asset and the Canton Foundation, responded by challenging Hoskinson’s claims. He questioned what Cardano has really achieved and asked for clear data, especially around DeFi and decentralized exchange activity, to support Hoskinson’s arguments.
I love it when I see legacy finance come together with Canton and try to build what XRP and Midnight are already doing at a scale 100x beyond their ambitions.
These guys never learn and don’t understand what makes Web3 unique and meaningful.
— Charles Hoskinson (@IOHK_Charles) December 26, 2025
Hoskinson pushed back by listing Cardano’s key achievements. He said Cardano introduced secure, non-custodial staking and was the first blockchain to use the EUTXO model with smart contracts. He also highlighted Cardano’s strong academic backing, noting that its security model is widely cited in research papers.
Hoskinson Defends Cardano’s Strengths
In addition, he pointed to Cardano’s large on-chain governance system and said the network has avoided major smart contract hacks. While admitting that Cardano’s DeFi activity is still weaker than some rivals, Hoskinson said this should improve next year as new integrations launch and more Bitcoin and XRP assets move into the ecosystem through the Midnight chain.
The argument continued, with Hoskinson criticizing Canton’s links to legacy finance and referencing past financial crises. Hoskinson said some Canton consortium members were involved in the 2008 financial crisis. According to Hoskinson, the same group is now promoting digital asset treasury firms selling an “infinity money glitch” idea.
However, Rooz denied this, saying his firms did not scam retail investors, and tried to end the discussion. The wider crypto community reacted with mixed views, with some supporting each side and others urging cooperation instead of public disputes.
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