Charles Hoskinson Urges Cardano Foundation to Embrace Community-Driven Governance

Charles Hoskinson, the founder of Cardano, has raised concerns about the governance model of the Cardano Foundation.

He pointed out that its non-membership-based structure undermines community oversight, sparking ongoing tensions between him and the organization.

Hoskinson Reveals Key Issue With the Cardano Foundation

On December 28, Hoskinson criticized the Cardano Foundation’s current framework, arguing that it fails to adequately involve the community.

So, he proposed transitioning to a membership-based organization (MBO), which would grant users greater influence over governance decisions. Hoskinson believes this shift could resolve key challenges within the ecosystem, including better advocacy for developers, improved liquidity, and more robust exchange listings.

“The organization should be an MBO. It would solve so many issues that people have been complaining about for years from who does the social coordination stuff, who is an advocate for the builders, who helps with liquidity and listings, and also practical concerns like oversight of payments and being a binding entity for development contracts,” Hoskinson stated.

Earlier this month, Hoskinson called for the Cardano Foundation to relocate to a jurisdiction that allows community members to elect its board. He criticized the current governance model, which grants the Swiss government authority to appoint board members, effectively sidelining the Cardano community.

These remarks align with his broader frustration over the foundation’s approach to resource management. He suggested that while Intersect, a community-driven alternative to the foundation, holds promise, it lacks sufficient funding and workforce.

“Intersect is now an alternative of necessity without the luxury of the 600 million dollars and years of extra time. Thus, it carries an enormous burden and heavy expectations with limited funding and a mostly volunteer workforce,” the Cardano founder wrote.

Hoskinson also criticized the foundation’s decision to establish Pragma, another entity, instead of investing in existing community initiatives like Intersect. He emphasized that the foundation’s primary role should be to empower community-led efforts rather than creating competing structures.

This friction is the latest in a series of disagreements between Hoskinson and the foundation. Previous disputes have included budget allocation debates and differing views on the recently introduced Cardano constitution. While the foundation has expressed a willingness to support the new constitution, it has signaled caution regarding budget approvals, citing a need for further review.

In his view, adopting an MBO governance model is crucial for fostering community control and ensuring the ecosystem’s long-term success. Hoskinson remains adamant that if the Cardano Foundation cannot fulfill this role, it should at least avoid hindering community-driven efforts to establish such a structure.

“This isn’t about just a budget. it’s about Cardano needing a foundation like many of the other ecosystems have. If they don’t want to do that, then at least don’t get in the way of Intersect and the budget for the community to build one themselves,” Hoskinson concluded.