Key Points
Charles Hoskinson, the founder of Cardano and ex-CEO of Ethereum, has expressed criticism of an article by Cointelegraph.
The article was based on an interview where Hoskinson referred to Ethereum’s governance as a dictatorship compared to Cardano’s model.
Hoskinson’s Criticism of Ethereum’s Governance Model
In a discussion with Cointelegraph during the TOKEN2049 conference in Singapore, Hoskinson elaborated on his views.
He believes that Ethereum’s current governance model relies heavily on its co-founder, Vitalik Buterin.
However, he clarified that he doesn’t see Buterin as having total control.
Following the publication of the article, Hoskinson stated on his X account that he won’t be giving any more interviews to traditional crypto media.
He cited frustration with sensationalist headlines and unproductive interviews.
When asked about his comparison of Ethereum to a dictatorship, Hoskinson explained his perspective.
He stated that the decentralized platform often looks to Buterin for guidance on the future direction of the blockchain.
Although he acknowledged that Buterin doesn’t hold all the power, he mentioned that Buterin’s influence over the blockchain is undeniable.
Hoskinson pointed out that Buterin played a significant role in leading Ethereum’s transition from sharding-based optimization to rollups and layer-2 networks.
In contrast, Hoskinson argues that Cardano’s governance model is much more cooperative.
He stated that this model ensures the decentralized platform’s continuity long after his departure.
This is attributed to the blockchain’s delegate-based model, which includes researchers and engineers.
Hoskinson referred to this group as an Intersect that uses a voting system to decide its next steps.
He further explained how this model addresses issues that have troubled other major blockchains.
These issues include what he termed as “the anarchy” of Bitcoin’s governance and “the dictatorship” of Ethereum’s model.
Before establishing Cardano, Hoskinson co-founded Ethereum with Buterin and served as CEO in 2013.
He was later dismissed from the company in 2014 due to a disagreement over the protocol’s direction.
Hoskinson wanted to commercialize the protocol, while Buterin preferred a non-profit approach.