Cardano (ADA) Price: Will Founder Drama Sink the Ship or Just Ruffle Feathers?
Cardano’s ADA faces turbulence as founder Charles Hoskinson’s latest comments spark backlash—just when the project needed stability. Critics pounce, but traders shrug: ’We’ve seen worse.’
Price check: ADA wobbles but holds key support. Bulls argue the tech speaks louder than tweets. Bears whisper ’distraction’—while quietly checking exit strategies.
The real question: In a market that rewards hype over substance 90% of the time, does controversy even matter? (Asking for a friend with bags to unload.)
TLDR
- Charles Hoskinson accused of misappropriating 318 million ADA (approx. $619 million) during 2021 Allegra hard fork
- Cardano currently trading at $0.74, up 1.4% in 24 hours but down 5.6% over the past week
- Hoskinson strongly denies allegations, promises full audit of treasury transactions
- Technical indicators show ADA in consolidation phase with neutral momentum
- Increased institutional investor adoption has helped maintain bullish sentiment despite controversy
Cardano (ADA) is maintaining its key support level around $0.74 despite serious allegations against its founder Charles Hoskinson. The cryptocurrency has shown resilience in the face of controversy, up 1.4% in the past 24 hours while experiencing a 5.6% decline over the past week.
The allegations stem from NFT artist Masato Alexander, who on May 7 claimed Hoskinson misused privileged access to MOVE approximately 318 million ADA tokens (worth about $619 million at the time) during the 2021 Allegra hard fork.
Alexander described a two-step process that allegedly involved wiping out unclaimed ADA from the 2017 initial coin offering and using a special transaction type to shift funds under Hoskinson’s control or that of Input Output Global, the company behind Cardano.
In 2021, Charles Hoskinson unilaterally used his genesis keys to REWRITE the Cardano ledger and take control of ₳318m ($619m)
By comparison, when the DAO hack happened in 2016, the ethereum community forked over $60m.
One of the largest ledger reorgs in blockchain history: 🧵
— masato_alexander (@masatoalexander) May 7, 2025
The accusations suggest only a small portion of these funds (around $7 million) was formally given to the Cardano governance group Intersect. Alexander compared the situation to the 2016 Ethereum DAO hack but noted that Cardano lacked similar community oversight.
Hoskinson has firmly rejected these claims, stating they are false and damaging to the project. According to Hoskinson, over 99.8% of ADA from the 2017 token sale was properly redeemed.
He explained that the remaining unclaimed funds (approximately 18 to 24 million ADA) were later donated to Intersect. Hoskinson clarified that the October 2021 transaction was part of an automated process designed to prevent unredeemed tokens from becoming unusable.
The one advantage in a crisis or an event that tests people is that you rapidly get to see who your friends truly are and who’s fairweather. I’d like to thank all the support and kind words both privately and publicly.
The downside is that I believe there will be a cold…
— Charles Hoskinson (@IOHK_Charles) May 18, 2025
Market Performance
The controversy has impacted trading volume, which stands at $856 million over the past 24 hours, representing a 15% decrease from the previous day. Market activity has slowed but remains steady overall.
Cardano is currently trading at a price that sits roughly 75% below its all-time high of $3.09, which was reached in September 2021.
Cardano
ADA Price
Technical indicators suggest ADA is in a consolidation phase. The relative strength index of 51.7 indicates neutral momentum, while the MACD shows a negative crossover with minimal upward pressure, presenting a somewhat bearish outlook.
The 10-day and 20-day moving averages (both EMAs and SMAs) are currently acting as resistance points, suggesting short-term selling pressure in the market. However, longer-term support is provided by the 30-, 50-, 100-, and 200-day moving averages, which continue to trend upward.
ADA’s ability to maintain its position above the 100-day EMA at $0.73 may be crucial to preventing further losses. If buyers can reclaim the 10-day EMA NEAR $0.76, the price could potentially move toward $0.78 or higher.
However, if current support levels fail to hold, the price might drop below $0.72 and possibly reach $0.70 or even $0.68. The market appears to be waiting for a catalyst, resulting in a neutral outlook for now.
Despite the controversy, on-chain data analysis shows increased capital inflow to crypto investment products, partly driven by geopolitical and economic uncertainty. This has helped maintain some bullish sentiment for ADA.
In the daily timeframe, ADA price has established a rising trend over recent weeks. After breaking out of a macro-falling wedge pattern in April, the price has gradually gained bullish momentum characterized by higher highs and higher lows.
The cardano Foundation has promised a full audit of the treasury transactions, which is expected to be conducted in the coming weeks. The results of this audit could serve as a significant price catalyst in either direction.
Following the backlash, Hoskinson stated he was “deeply hurt” by the community’s reaction and indicated he WOULD likely step back from social media for some time.
