Cardano Founder Charles Hoskinson Blasts Ripple Over ’Dirty’ CLARITY Act Maneuver

Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has launched a blistering public attack, accusing Ripple and CEO Brad Garlinghouse of engineering the proposed CLARITY Act to stifle crypto competition while securing regulatory protection for their own interests. The allegation, delivered during Hoskinson's weekly YouTube update, warns the legislation could fundamentally reshape competitive dynamics across the digital asset sector.

Hoskinson Accuses Ripple Of Playing Dirty

According to Charles Hoskinson, the CLARITY Act, in its current form, was crafted with Ripple’s fingerprints on it. He is of the notion that the bill’s structure would classify most digital assets as securities by default, forcing projects to fight their way out of that designation through a regulatory process he warned the SEC could easily weaponize. “They’re trying to pass a bill that hurts the entire ecosystem while they get protected,” he said.

As noted by Hoskinson, if the CLARITY Act is passed, projects would need to prove otherwise, effectively placing the burden of defense on developers and startups from the outset.

Open-source contributors could face legal risks even when they are not directly responsible for how their code is used. He pointed to the legal exposure faced by developers connected to Tornado Cash as an example of what could become standard practice if the CLARITY Act passes in its current form. 

He also flagged the removal of existing protections for DeFi developers as a provision that would send a chilling signal across the entire community of crypto developers. 

Cardano Founder Says XRP Community Is Incapable Of Critical Thinking

Hoskinson also reserved some of his remarks for members of the XRP community. He accused Ripple directly of conducting a sustained campaign of layer after layer of marketing and propaganda. Furthermore, years of social media consumption, cable news, and yellow journalism have left segments of the XRP community with an inability to think critically. 

Hoskinson has been building this argument over several months, and his recent statements tie into a broader pattern of criticism against Ripple and the CLARITY Act. 

Back in early March, he noted that the CLARITY Act’s structure effectively labels everything as a security first, creating a system where only a few projects will be spared. He suggested that XRP could be among the assets that receive more favorable treatment under the framework proposed by the CLARITY Act.

His criticism against Brad Garlinghouse has also been very persistent. A notable example is during a January 2026 livestream where he questioned why the Ripple CEO is supportive of advancing the bill despite its perceived flaws.

Polymarket odds of the CLARITY Act being signed into law in 2026 have now fallen to 51%, down from above 78% in early March, following Coinbase’s opposition to a stablecoin yield compromise and the departure of crypto czar David Sacks from his role.