According to NFT artist Masato Alexander, Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson allegedly misused his genesis keys in 2021 to rewrite the Cardano blockchain and gain control over 318 million ADA (620 million USD). Hoskinson, in turn, denies the accusation.
Alexander posted on X (formerly Twitter), claiming that Charles Hoskinson moved over 300 unclaimed ADA tokens into the network reserves during the Cardano Allegra hard fork in 2021. The artist accuses Hoskinson of using his genesis keys to delete the original “UTxOs” from the Initial Coin Offering (ICO) of 2017 and gain control over those funds. A UTxO (Unspent Transaction Output) represents the balance of a wallet.
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Background: What happened during the allegra hard fork
The Allegra hard fork in December 2020 was part of Cardano’s Shelley upgrade, which introduced features such as token locking and preparation for decentralized governance. In this context, UTxOs that had remained unclaimed since the 2017 ICO were also adjusted.
Masato Alexander claims that a silent transfer of over 300 million ADA occurred within this context. He supports the claim with a 2021 transaction. Hoskinson counters that the transfer was part of automated processes within network development and did not involve personal gain. He described the allegations as “defamation and slander,” which he would pursue with legal action. He further explained that 99.8% of the ADA vouchers issued during the ICO were successfully redeemed.
The remaining 0.2% (approximately 18 to 24 million ADA) went unclaimed after a seven-year redemption period and were ultimately transferred to Intersect, a governance group within Cardano. Hoskinson emphasized that he had no direct access to these tokens. Alexander, however, responded that the explanation was incomplete and did not clarify what happened to the 318 million ADA.
Division within the cardano community
The allegations have led to a split within the Cardano community. Some members are calling for greater transparency and an independent audit of the events surrounding the Allegra hard fork. Others defend Hoskinson’s actions, citing the complexity of the situation at the time, including the bankruptcy of Attain-the company that originally sold the ADA vouchers in Japan.
One party altered the Cardano blockchain to delete and transfer unredeemed ADA vouchers from the ICO, even though such processes in a decentralized network should be decided through a governance procedure-as was the case with the controversial Ethereum DAO hack. IOHK and the Cardano Foundation did not immediately respond to inquiries from CVJ.CH.
