The community of Cardano (ADA) intensified criticism of founder Charles Hoskinson after Japan's SBI Holdings announced a strategic partnership with the Solana ecosystem to develop stablecoins and asset tokenization initiatives. The financial institution's decision triggered a strong reaction among ADA investors, especially in Japan, a market considered one of the project's historical pillars.
During Cardano's early years, Japanese investors played a significant role in financing the network. For this reason, part of the community interpreted the rapprochement between SBI Holdings and Solana as a sign of Cardano losing ground in a region considered strategic for its growth.
The reaction quickly gained momentum on social media. Several users began demanding explanations from Charles Hoskinson, stating that the project appears to be standing still amid the progress of competitors and the lack of major commercial agreements announced recently.
In response to the criticism, Hoskinson rejected any individual responsibility for the deal carried out by SBI Holdings. According to him, Cardano's current structure does not concentrate commercial decisions in a single organization, unlike what many members of the community seem to believe.
The founder argued that the network's governance model has changed significantly in recent years and that responsibility for the ecosystem's development has come to be distributed among different participants. In his view, expecting only one company or a single leader to conduct all negotiations represents an outdated view of how the blockchain operates.
Hoskinson also criticized part of the community, stating that many investors still display an attitude of "learned helplessness", by attributing exclusively to Input Output Global (IOG) or to the founder himself responsibility for every strategic partnership involving Cardano.
According to him, the blockchain currently has a shared Treasury managed through on-chain voting. This mechanism allows the community to participate in setting priorities and funding initiatives aimed at expanding the ecosystem, reducing dependence on centralized administration.
The statement reinforces Hoskinson's position that neither he nor IOG have exclusivity in conducting commercial agreements. For projects considered relevant, the expectation is that proposals will be presented to the community and evaluated within Cardano's decentralized governance model.
The episode reignited the debate among ADA holders about the speed of the ecosystem's growth and the need to expand institutional partnerships in important markets, especially after SBI Holdings' move toward Solana.
