Charles Hoskinson is at it again. The Cardano founder made headlines recently with a new healthcare project in Wyoming—a $200 million clinic that he says is already serving a third of Gillette’s population. He calls it open-source, patient-first, and even mentioned plans to weave in AI and advanced cryptography down the line. But it’s hard not to notice how these grand announcements keep coming while Cardano itself seems to be treading water.
Big Promises, Slow Progress
Back in 2021, Hoskinson was talking about a partnership with Ethiopia’s education ministry that would put millions of student and teacher IDs on the blockchain. It was supposed to be a huge moment for real-world use. By 2024, though, the project was being described more like a learning experience. The tech behind it, Atala PRISM, got folded into a broader consortium effort. Not exactly the adoption story we were told.
And then there’s the tech itself. Hoskinson recently admitted that Cardano’s smart contract rollout in 2021 was too rigid. Developers found it frustrating—concurrency issues popped up almost immediately. Many just moved to Solana or Ethereum, where things were moving faster.
By the Numbers
The data’s pretty sobering. As of this September, Cardano’s total value locked in DeFi was around $390 million. Solana? Over $12 billion. Ethereum? Try $93 billion. Daily transactions tell a similar story—Cardano’s hovering around 71,000 per day, while Solana handles millions. Developer activity is thinner, too. It’s hard to ignore the gap.
Governance Growing Pains
Then there’s the question of who’s really steering the ship. Cardano’s governance structure has always been a little messy, with three main entities sharing power. There have been public spats over budgets and accusations of centralization. On-chain voting was introduced to give the community more say, but participation has been lukewarm. A big chunk of ADA holders either abstain or don’t vote at all.
Earlier this year, there was even a controversy over unclaimed ADA vouchers—claims that Hoskinson had manipulated the blockchain. An audit later cleared him, but the whole thing shook confidence. It’s ironic, given how often Hoskinson criticizes Ethereum’s governance as too centralized around Vitalik Buterin.
Side Quests and Spectacles
Lately, Hoskinson’s been spending more time talking about things like de-extinction—yes, bringing back woolly mammoths—through his involvement with Colossal Biosciences. It’s a fascinating idea, but also… kind of a distraction. Meanwhile, Cardano’s ecosystem is still trying to find its footing.
It all leaves you wondering. Are these side projects visionary—or are they just pulling focus from the hard, unglamorous work of making a blockchain actually work at scale? For now, the evidence seems to lean one way. Big ideas are exciting. But execution? That’s what counts.
