Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson addressed investor frustration over the token’s prolonged decline during a YouTube AMA, stating he never promised that ADA would increase in value or surpass Bitcoin. The remarks, made on November 7, came as ADA traded near $0.164, roughly 94.7% below its all-time high of about $3.10 reached in 2021.

Hoskinson Rejects Price Guarantees

Hoskinson responded directly to questions about earlier comments suggesting Cardano could become the largest cryptocurrency. He clarified that expressing a preference or possibility is not the same as making a promise.

He added that he does not commit to price appreciation. “I don’t promise price appreciation, or people overturning things. I say it’s absolutely possible,” Hoskinson said. He described demands for him to support the token’s price as requests to “pump your bags,” arguing that such expectations create an impossible cycle in which every buyer seeks further gains and any pause invites accusations of failure.

Roadmap Complete and Network Self-Governing

Hoskinson said his primary role was to build and decentralize Cardano, not to manage its market price. He stated that the project has completed its original roadmap, with all core components delivered. The network’s five development stages—Byron, Shelley, Goguen, Basho, and Voltaire—introduced staking, smart contracts, scaling improvements, and community governance. The Plomin hard fork in January 2025 finalized the shift to on-chain voting, allowing ADA holders to select leaders without his involvement.

He noted that Cardano now operates independently and no longer depends on him for direction.

ADA Market Position

At the time of the reports, ADA traded between $0.1636 and $0.164, down approximately 4.2% to 4.7% over 24 hours and about 10.9% over seven days. Its market capitalization stood near $6.15 billion, placing it around 18th among cryptocurrencies. The token remained more than 94% below its 2021 peak and about 86% below its 2024 high. Twenty-four-hour trading volume was reported near $228 million on spot markets, while futures volume was substantially higher.

Derivatives data showed open interest near $349 million, a decline of roughly 6.6% in a day. Liquidations over the same period totaled about $1.73 million, with the large majority involving long positions. Funding rates were negative, indicating shorts were paying longs.

Hoskinson’s comments arrived amid broader pressure on digital assets and ongoing scrutiny of project founders’ responsibilities after major price drawdowns. He maintained that technical delivery and decentralization had been achieved, while price outcomes remain outside any individual’s control.