Here’s What The Cardano Founder Has To Say About The Widespread Criticism

bitcoinistPublished on 2026-05-09Last updated on 2026-05-09

Abstract

Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson responded to criticisms from Flare founder Hugo Philion, who compared the DeFi growth of the two networks. Philion cited data showing Flare's Total Value Locked (TVL) at $159 million, surpassing Cardano's $132 million, despite Cardano's earlier 2017 launch. He suggested Cardano was copying Flare's strategy and claimed his network would succeed by becoming a unified DeFi layer for various assets. Hoskinson dismissed the remarks as an outdated marketing tactic for attention. He indicated a lack of interest in further debate, while reiterating Cardano's own goal to become a DeFi layer for Bitcoin, potentially allowing major holders to generate yield. ADA's price was noted at approximately $0.27 at the time of writing.

Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has reacted to Flare founder Hugo Philion’s comments, in which Philion highlighted his network’s growth relative to Cardano. Notably, Flare has achieved this growth as one of the largest DeFi providers in the XRP ecosystem.

Cardano Founder Reacts To Flare Founder’s Comments

In an X post, the Cardano founder remarked that attacking his network to get attention and media coverage is an old marketing tactic. He urged the Flare founder to update his marketing strategy and possibly try “TikTok reaction videos.” Hoskinson was reacting to an X post, in which Philion highlighted his network’s growth while criticizing Cardano.

The Flare founder cited DeFiLlama data showing that the Cardano network has $132 million in total value locked in DeFi, while Flare has $159 million. Philion noted that the network launched in 2017, while Flare launched six years later. He added that ever since they launched, Cardano has been trying and “miserably failing” to copy their strategy.

Philion further mentioned that the network has far lower statistics across the board in DeFi than Flare does, despite having a massive head start and a vast treasury at one point. With his network ahead now, the Flare founder declared that ADA will not win BTC. Instead, he believes that his network will win by creating a unified DeFi layer for FXRP, FBTC, FXLM, RWAs, and stables.

The Flare network has notably gained ground in the XRP ecosystem, with Philion recently describing his network as the largest DeFi provider. CoinGecko data shows that FXRP currently has a market cap of just over $220 million, with 155 million tokens in circulation.

Not An Attack On The Network

In another X post, the Flare founder said that he wasn’t attacking Cardano and was just simply stating numbers from DeFiLlama. However, he questioned how nothing has materially changed for ADA despite the attacks against the network in 2022. He teased the founder by asking if he would like an advance copy of Flare’s 2027 strategy, so that he could try to implement it.

However, the Cardano founder indicated that he didn’t have time to go back and forth with the Flare founder. It is worth noting that, like Flare, Cardano aims to be the DeFi layer for Bitcoin. Hoskinson had previously said they wanted to make BTC programmable in ADA’s smart contracts. That way, market participants will be able to earn BTC yield on the network.

The founder highlighted how this could be huge for his network, given that the U.S. government and top organizations currently hold BTC. By becoming the DeFi layer for Bitcoin, Cardano could enable companies such as BlackRock to deploy their holdings to generate yields.

At the time of writing, the ADA price is trading at around $0.27, up over 5% in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

ADA trading at $0.27 on the 1D chart | Source: ADAUSDT on Tradingview.com

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Related Questions

QWhat was Charles Hoskinson's main criticism of the Flare founder's comments?

ACharles Hoskinson criticized the Flare founder, saying that attacking the Cardano network to gain attention and media coverage is an old marketing tactic. He suggested that the Flare founder should update his marketing strategy.

QAccording to DeFiLlama data cited in the article, what is the Total Value Locked (TVL) for Cardano and Flare?

AAccording to DeFiLlama data cited in the article, the Cardano network has $132 million in total value locked (TVL) in DeFi, while the Flare network has $159 million.

QWhat did the Flare founder, Hugo Philion, claim about Cardano's strategy compared to Flare's?

AHugo Philion claimed that ever since Flare launched, Cardano has been trying and "miserably failing" to copy Flare's strategy.

QHow does Charles Hoskinson envision Cardano's potential role regarding Bitcoin (BTC)?

ACharles Hoskinson envisions Cardano becoming the DeFi layer for Bitcoin, making BTC programmable in ADA's smart contracts. This would allow market participants, including major organizations like BlackRock, to deploy their Bitcoin holdings on the Cardano network to generate yields.

QAccording to the article, what was the price of ADA at the time of writing and its 24-hour performance?

AAt the time of writing, the ADA price was trading at around $0.27, which was up over 5% in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

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