Hoskinson Accuses Ethereum of Copying Cardano UTXO Innovations

Ethereum Explores Native UTXO Payments for Efficiency

Ethereum Foundation researcher Toni Wahrstätter recently introduced a proposal focused on implementing native UTXO-style payments within the Ethereum network. The initiative targets one of Ethereum’s persistent challenges: growing state size on the blockchain. By treating simple payment transactions as one-time objects, the approach aims to significantly reduce permanent storage requirements while preserving Ethereum’s account-based architecture.

According to the proposal, this method could cut the permanent state needed for payment workloads by approximately 99.8%. Transaction data would be handled primarily through event logs and cryptographic commitments rather than occupying ongoing space in the blockchain state. The design also integrates with proposed Frame Transactions, allowing coexistence of traditional account transfers, UTXO-based payments, sponsorship mechanisms, and gas payments.

Hoskinson Claims Cardano Built It First

Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson quickly responded to the proposal, arguing that it closely resembles concepts Cardano has developed and implemented over nearly a decade through its Extended Unspent Transaction Output (EUTXO) model. He emphasized that Cardano’s architecture has long supported advanced smart contract functionality on a UTXO base, including better parallel transaction processing and predictable execution.

During a livestream, Hoskinson elaborated that Cardano had already addressed many technical challenges related to combining UTXO and account-based systems, including reference inputs. He pointed to Cardano’s Chimeric Ledgers paper as evidence of early work on running these systems in parallel.

Broader Accusations of Idea Adoption

Hoskinson extended his critique beyond the UTXO proposal, claiming Ethereum has repeatedly adopted ideas first explored by Cardano without proper credit. He cited examples including governance systems, treasury mechanisms, consensus research, privacy features, and formal verification tools. According to Hoskinson, Ethereum developers had previously dismissed UTXO-based smart contracts as impractical before incorporating similar directions into their roadmap.

Cardano’s Resilience and Market Perspective

In the same discussion, Hoskinson reflected on Cardano’s price history and long-term vision. He recounted how ADA rose from $0.025 to an all-time high of $3.10 in 2021, noting that such cycles are common in the industry and do not reflect the underlying technology’s quality. Despite ADA currently trading well below its peak, he expressed continued confidence in the project.

Hoskinson stressed that Cardano’s strength lies in its research-driven approach and focus on quality engineering. He highlighted ongoing initiatives like the RealFi Testnet Phase 1, aimed at improving financial inclusion, and the potential of the Midnight sidechain to create substantial ecosystem value.

Implications for Blockchain Competition

The exchange underscores the competitive dynamics between major smart contract platforms. While Ethereum pursues incremental improvements to address scalability and storage issues within its existing framework, Cardano positions itself as an innovator that has already solved many of these problems through a fundamentally different architectural approach.

Proponents of the Ethereum proposal view it as practical engineering to enhance network efficiency without disruptive overhauls. Meanwhile, Cardano supporters see validation in Ethereum’s interest in UTXO concepts, even as they call for greater recognition of prior work in the space.