Cardano founder Hoskinson said during a livestream that the roadmap is complete, and that investors just want him to pump the price for them. He also revealed that he is tired of governance disputes, does not want to be a DRep, and cannot control the Cardano Foundation. Holders will have to find someone else to rely on. (Previously: Cardano founder denies he is “about to leave”: even taxi drivers out there are spreading rumors) (Background: Cardano development fully handed over! Input Output (IO) transfers core infrastructure, pushing for complete decentralization)   The roadmap is done—does that mean the founder can call it a day? During a recent YouTube livestream AMA, Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson had this retort for dissatisfied investors: “The roadmap is complete.” What you really want is just “for me to pump the price for you”… ADA is currently trading at $0.15, down 9.1% in 24 hours—more than BTC’s 4.1% decline—and is down about 95% from its September 2021 high of $3.09. How did the argument start? It began when a viewer with the YouTube account shevilkid1738 accused him of having promised that Cardano would surpass Bitcoin. At 0:50:58, Hoskinson countered: “I never promised that.” He said he had only expressed a desire to see it happen and believed Cardano was a better store of value than Bitcoin. “I don’t promise price increases.” At 2:08, he put it even more plainly: “This isn’t a promise. I’ve taken it as far as I can.” He also compared it to Japan’s Sengoku period: “Oda Nobunaga is dead. Now you have to live with the Tokugawa shogunate.” Cardano’s roadmap has five eras: Byron launched in September 2017; Shelley added staking in July 2020; Goguen brought smart contracts through the Alonzo hard fork in September 2021; Basho addressed scaling with the Vasil upgrade in September 2022; and Voltaire launched on-chain governance through the Chang hard fork in September 2024. Then, in January 2025, the Plomin hard fork gave ADA holders voting rights. He also said Cardano’s market cap was once four times Honda’s, and that the community could choose its own leaders without his approval. As for pumping the price, he sees it as a bottomless pit: people who bought at $3 expect it to rise to $5, while those who bought at $5 expect it to rise to $7. “If I exit at $5, I’ve scammed the people who bought at $5; if I exit at $3, I’ve scammed the people who bought at $3. There’s no way to win.” Why doesn’t he want to be a DRep? The more revealing part of the livestream came around 2:12. A viewer asked whether he would step up as a DRep—that is, a delegated representative in Cardano’s on-chain governance. He said he hadn’t decided. Many people want him to do it, but he is “really tired of arguing with people.” It’s “a swamp,” and he would rather work on Midnight and video games. He said that if he became a DRep, he would push to have the Cardano Foundation board elected publicly. And talk alone would not be enough; there would have to be consequences: if the Foundation did not comply, they would fork the protocol and cut off its funding. “That would be a major battle. I don’t want to fight it. I don’t have the time or energy anymore.” He also said Cardano is so decentralized that even its founder cannot get around the Cardano Foundation, “even if they betray us.” Handing things over to the community—who’s responsible? Hoskinson says he has no power over the ecosystem, while admitting that he cannot control the Foundation and does not plan to fight another governance battle. For holders, the result of handing things over is that no one is responsible for the price, and even the levers of governance are out of the founder’s hands. All they can do is wait for the “young leaders” he mentioned to emerge. Completing the roadmap marks engineering progress; it does not mean the market will buy in. Hoskinson is not wrong to say he cannot promise price gains, but those who are already holding at a loss now have to decide for themselves who to put their hopes in. Related articles Cardano launches the van Rossem hard fork: its first-ever governance-driven upgrade Cardano founder announces, “I’m going to take a break”; ADA crashes to a five-year low of $0.19 Cardano Foundation annual meeting called off! Ada governance vote narrowly fails, founder Hoskinson turns to TOKEN2049 Cardano Foundation sits on 1,090 BTC; prominent creditor demands transparency on fund flows Cardano founder: “I lost $3 billion! But I won’t give up investing in crypto” This article, “Cardano founder clashes with crypto holders: roadmap complete, community to take over from here; won’t pump ADA,” was first published by BlockTempo (動區動趨—The Most Influential Blockchain News Media).