Billionaire Charles Hoskinson: From Ethereum Veteran and Cardano Founder to a Jack of All Trades

Author: Zen, PANews

With ADA designated by Trump as one of the strategic reserves for cryptocurrencies, Cardano and its founder Charles Hoskinson have once again become the focus of media attention. As an early evangelist of Bitcoin, a founding member of Ethereum, and the creator of Cardano, Charles, already a billionaire, has often been known for his unconventional pursuits in recent years: he not only funds and works to search for extraterrestrial civilizations, establishes medical research institutions, but also manages vast ranches, venturing into traditional livestock industries. As Cardano becomes a hot topic of industry attention again, Charles's story is worth revisiting.

Early Believer and Evangelist of Bitcoin

In 2008, Charles Hoskinson was majoring in mathematics and analytic number theory at university, and besides mathematics, he was also interested in researching monetary policy. That same year, he participated in Republican Congressman Ron Paul's "Campaign for Liberty." Ron advocated for the abolition of the Federal Reserve Bank, believing it not only failed to control inflation but was also the culprit behind inflation, economic depression, and the depletion of personal assets. A few years later, when he first heard about Bitcoin, he initially dismissed it, thinking that the success of a currency did not depend on technology or dreams, but rather on how many people were willing to use it.

It wasn't until 2013 that Charles changed his mind and began to believe that Bitcoin would change human monetary transactions, business relationships, corporate behavior, property certification, and democratic models. He started buying Bitcoin, mining, and founded the "Bitcoin Education Project," which offered free online courses on Bitcoin education, covering topics from monetary policy to blockchain technology, and established a partnership with Bitcoin Magazine.

At that time, Bitcoin was still in its infancy, with a small community, making it easy for people in the industry to connect with each other. With enough enthusiasm, one could quickly enter the core circle, and Charles was one of them. During this period, Charles also met several early Bitcoin evangelists and tech giants through offline gatherings and began his first entrepreneurial attempt—decentralized exchange platform Bitshares.

Bitshares was co-founded by Charles and Daniel Larimer (nicknamed "BM"), who later founded EOS, but they parted ways due to differing management philosophies. Charles later stated that he believed the introduction of venture capital meant that company decisions had to be accountable to shareholders, and diverse opinions were beneficial for company development, while BM preferred autonomous decision-making without outside interference. In the early days of the startup, BM's father, Stan Larimer, also participated in Bitshares, and Charles's apartment was provided by Stan. Therefore, after disagreements arose, Charles had to take the initiative to withdraw.

The Hasty Departure of an Ethereum Founding "Elder"

In October 2013, Anthony Di Iorio of the Canadian Bitcoin Alliance and Mihai Alisie of Bitcoin Magazine gathered Charles and future Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin to start a conceptual ecosystem for a programming language aimed at blockchain applications, later inviting Gavin Wood, Jeffrey Wilcke, and Joe Lubin to join the discussions.

In January 2014, at the North American Bitcoin Conference held in Miami, Ethereum was born during a gathering of nearly thirty people in a beach cabin rented by Anthony. At this time, as the CEO of Ethereum, Charles had quietly completed his transformation from a crypto evangelist to a core participant in the industry.

However, as Ethereum rapidly advanced in development, it also had to face critical management decisions—should Ethereum be built as a profitable enterprise or operate as a non-profit? This question sparked intense debate within the founding team. Charles advocated that Ethereum should model itself after Google and establish a for-profit company to acquire more resources for accelerated development. In contrast, Vitalik insisted that Ethereum should maintain its decentralized spirit and adopt a non-profit model, which received support from most internal members.

Ultimately, due to ideological differences, Charles chose to leave, and his title as Ethereum CEO was rendered void. At this point, Ethereum had only been established for a mere six months. Years later, Charles reflected on his position in Ethereum, admitting that perhaps Vitalik's non-profit model was indeed the more suitable path for Ethereum. And the facts have proven that Ethereum's success cannot be separated from community support and the development of an open-source ecosystem.

New Journey: Charles and His Cardano "Independent Kingdom"

According to Charles, after leaving Ethereum, he considered returning to academia to complete his PhD. But fate seemed to have other plans for him—during this period of introspection, Charles met former Ethereum colleague Jeremy Wood. The two hit it off and co-founded a company focused on blockchain and cryptocurrency engineering and research, IOHK (Input Output Hong Kong).

In the early days of the startup, they invested only a few thousand dollars but quickly received many blockchain development contracts, with IOHK being compensated in Bitcoin. Fortunately, the Bitcoin market soon entered a bull market, and IOHK quickly achieved substantial profits, allowing them to independently develop blockchain technology without relying on external financing. Thus, Cardano was born. Notably, when creating Cardano in 2017, Charles firmly rejected the introduction of venture capital, believing that the involvement of capital would violate the core principle of "decentralization" in the crypto industry. He stated that venture capitalists often take their "share of profits" from projects first, which contradicts the open spirit of cryptocurrencies.

As Cardano rapidly developed, IOHK had sufficient funds to sponsor research laboratories at the University of Edinburgh and the Tokyo Institute of Technology, ultimately leading to the birth of the Ouroboros consensus protocol, which became the core mechanism of the Cardano blockchain. In 2018, Cardano also announced a collaboration with the Ethiopian government to explore the potential applications of blockchain technology. However, the bear market at that time plunged the entire crypto industry into a downturn, and Cardano also entered a period of stagnation. It wasn't until 2021 that Cardano gradually recovered with the market, and its Ada token soared to a historic high of over $2.

It is worth mentioning that compared to other Layer 1 projects like Ethereum and Solana, Cardano's trading volume and activity cannot compete, often being criticized as a "zombie chain," seemingly surviving solely on the popularity of its creator. Nevertheless, as of March 6, Cardano (Ada) had a circulating market cap of $42.7 billion, with a circulating value exceeding $34 billion.

The popularity of Cardano in the Japanese market, even being referred to as the "Ethereum of Japan," is largely related to its early financing model. It is reported that nearly 95% of buyers in Cardano's public offering were Japanese investors, often referred to as "retirement investments," mainly because this public offering was led by the Japanese company Emurgo, and at that time, Japan's regulatory environment was relatively lenient compared to Europe and the U.S., leading to a misunderstanding that Cardano was a Japanese project. However, as U.S. crypto policies gradually open up, Cardano is slowly downplaying its Japanese image.

Political Bets: From Little Kennedy to Trump

In April 2024, Charles Hoskinson announced his support for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr.) for the U.S. presidency. Little Robert Kennedy believes that intelligence agencies, tech platforms, and regulatory bodies have overstepped their bounds, which resonated with Charles's libertarian foundation in his blockchain endeavors. He also praised Kennedy's nuanced positions on various issues, including immigration policy and drug regulation. In August 2024, after Kennedy withdrew from the race and joined Trump's camp, Charles also became a supporter of Trump.

On November 9 last year, after Trump's victory, Charles announced on his podcast that he would collaborate with the Trump administration for most of the coming year to establish clear regulatory guidelines for the cryptocurrency industry. He pointed out that he would do this alongside several other industry leaders. Following this news, the price of ADA surged, rising over 40% within 24 hours to reach its highest level in seven months, exceeding $0.6.

On March 2, President Trump announced on social media that his executive order on digital assets directed the presidential task force to advance cryptocurrency strategic reserves, including XRP, SOL, and ADA. Trump also stated that he would ensure the U.S. becomes the world's cryptocurrency capital, making America great again. Following this news, ADA skyrocketed, with its price rising from $0.65 to over $1.10.

Charles Hoskinson later responded that he was completely unaware of the "Trump team's efforts to include ADA in the cryptocurrency reserves." "We had no idea about this, and no one had talked to us about it. When I woke up on March 2, I received 150 congratulatory messages, but I really didn't know what had happened." From his absence at the White House cryptocurrency summit on March 8, it seems Charles was indeed caught off guard by "ADA's resurgence."

"Jack of All Trades": Aliens, Cattle, and Plant Genetic Engineering

After achieving great success in the cryptocurrency and blockchain fields and becoming a billionaire, Charles Hoskinson has also actively engaged in philanthropy. In 2021, he donated approximately $20 million to Carnegie Mellon University to establish the "Hoskinson Center for Mathematics." Additionally, in 2023, he funded $1.5 million and accompanied Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb to Papua New Guinea to search for "meteor fragments" that fell into the Pacific in 2014. Although the results were not satisfactory—Loeb's team claimed to have found tiny metal spheres created by extraterrestrial life on the ocean floor, but according to the American Astronomical Society's statement, the chemical composition provided by Loeb was closest to human-produced coal ash.

In addition to searching for extraterrestrial life, Charles Hoskinson's work and new ventures are diverse, including but not limited to livestock, dining, healthcare, plant genetic engineering, and private jet rentals.

Charles owns an 11,000-acre ranch near Whittler, Wyoming, raising over 500 bison. Due to the lack of good dining options in the nearby town, he opened the Nessie restaurant and whiskey lounge in Whittler. Charles has also emphasized that his restaurant will be cryptocurrency-friendly. Additionally, coming from a family of doctors (both his father and brother are doctors), Charles opened the Hoskinson Health and Wellness Clinic in Gillette, Wyoming, focusing on anti-aging and regenerative medicine, reportedly costing $18 million.

"If you want to address global warming or improve the environment, then participating in plant genetic engineering makes sense." In recent years, Charles has also become fascinated with bioluminescent plants, stating that genetically engineered plants can not only produce organic lighting but also sequester carbon, eliminate toxic chemicals, and provide other environmental benefits. According to Charles, his team has successfully modified plant species, including cultivated tobacco and Arabidopsis.

However, according to a report, in 2022, Charles Hoskinson's private jet flew a total of 562 hours, covering approximately 456,000 kilometers, greater than the distance from the Earth to the Moon's apogee. His private jet pollution ranked in the top 15 in the U.S., with emissions exceeding those of billionaires and Hollywood celebrities like Mark Zuckerberg and Kim Kardashian. Charles stated that this was due to his private jet being of high quality, and he collaborated with third-party companies to rent the plane to private clients, mentioning that his regular customers include the rock band Metallica and Hollywood superstar Dwayne Johnson.

In response, Charles jokingly remarked in a video, "My personal energy consumption might be quite high, not only because I have a jet but also because I have a large ranch in Wyoming with 500 bison."

Controversial Blockchain Pioneer with a Questionable Resume?

Last August, before Robert F. Kennedy Jr. withdrew from the race, he had an interview dialogue with Charles. This sparked significant criticism before airing, with many complaining that RFK Jr. should not be speaking with a "fraud."

With fame comes controversy, and Charles Hoskinson has always been surrounded by disputes. In her book "The Cryptopian," renowned cryptocurrency journalist Laura Shin criticized and questioned Charles regarding his personal experiences while delving into the early history of Bitcoin. The book pointed out that there is no evidence that Hoskinson ever pursued a PhD, and his highest degree may only be a bachelor's. Additionally, Laura accused Charles of exaggerating his resume, falsely claiming connections with the CIA and DARPA (the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), the authenticity of which remains questionable.

In response to the criticism, Charles sarcastically remarked on social media, "This book is a nice piece of fiction, but it's a bit hard to surpass Tolkien (author of 'The Hobbit' and 'The Lord of the Rings') and George R.R. Martin (author of 'A Song of Ice and Fire')." Laura quickly rebutted, emphasizing that all her content underwent rigorous fact-checking.

Controversies aside, the currently popular Cardano continues to evolve, although its technological strength and market positioning remain subjects of discussion from various perspectives. As an important figure in the blockchain industry, regardless of whether his past boasts are true or whether his choices are correct, it is undeniable that his story has become an important chapter in the crypto world.