Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson criticized U.S. President Donald Trump's crypto policy, stating that it has politicized cryptocurrency and turned half the country against the industry. In an interview with CoinDesk TV, Hoskinson said that the Trump administration has put the American crypto industry in a worse position than under the previous president, Joe Biden.
Hoskinson, CEO and founder of Input Output Group, the company behind the Cardano blockchain, and co-founder of Ethereum, stated after Trump's election in November 2024 that he would work with the new administration. However, when the TRUMP and MELANIA memecoins, promoted by the Trump couple, were launched ahead of the 2025 inauguration, Hoskinson became disillusioned with the new president's actions.
TRUMP and MELANIA soared to highs in the first days of trading and then crashed sharply, leaving thousands of retail buyers at a loss. Hoskinson believes that due to the impact of this incident on investors, efforts to regulate cryptocurrencies have stalled.
He noted that there is nothing wrong with launching memecoins, but Trump could have waited until a new regulatory framework was established. According to the cryptographer, in 2025, its adoption by the U.S. Congress (the Clarity bill) was derailed due to Democrats' concerns about Trump's ties to the crypto business.
"If a project is launched to extract money, the result can be public rejection of cryptocurrencies. For the left, anything associated with Trump becomes bad. You can't alienate half the country and then expect their support," Hoskinson explained.
According to Hoskinson, what primarily set him against the Trump administration's policy was the lack of structure and coordination with crypto industry leaders. They "had no core philosophy," says the founder of one of the oldest blockchains.
"He [Trump] didn't create any structures to get really good advice from industry representatives. And he kind of created this predatory permissiveness," Hoskinson said.
He recounted that his invitations to White House events were sent and then withdrawn without explanation in the early days of the administration. Additionally, Hoskinson stated that when ADA, the Cardano token, was included in the administration's crypto reserve, no one contacted the project.
In Hoskinson's opinion, the Trump administration's behavior likely caused more division than it helped. He compared their approach to cryptocurrencies to Trump's foreign policy. Hoskinson mentioned the recent operation in Venezuela and asked: "What is our strategy? Can we at least get an explanation of what the plan is at the moment?"
According to Hoskinson, the main problem is the lack of accountability. In his view, the current U.S. presidential administration has no respect for the rule of law.
"Cryptocurrency is corruption. It's a mechanism for transferring wealth to Trump and his friends. And it hasn't helped any of us," believes the Cardano founder.
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