From Interview with Charles Hoskinson of Cardano: A Secure and Scalable Blockchain · · Cryptocurrency Virtual Summit
“Cardano is basically an aggregation of a bunch of protocols that together act as our best bet for what a third-generation cryptocurrency needs to look like. So what is a third-generation cryptocurrency? It's basically a cryptocurrency that can do all the things that we'd love with Ethereum and Bitcoin but at a scale of billions of people, a cryptocurrency that's capable of talking to many other cryptocurrencies and legacy financial systems, and a cryptocurrency that's able to sustain itself meaning it can pay for its development long term.”
On , Charles Hoskinson, CEO at IOHK, spoke about blockchain scalability during Interview with Charles Hoskinson of Cardano: A Secure and Scalable Blockchain on Cryptocurrency Virtual Summit.
Charles Hoskinson, the CEO of Input Output Global and founder of Cardano and Midnight, has been active in multiple public appearances discussing blockchain governance, privacy, and the integration of cryptocurrency with artificial intelligence. In a January 2024 LinkedIn Live interview, he described blockchain technology as a "management layer" for business and a means to "preserve human rights moving into the 21st century," and argued that the ESG movement would be a key driver of blockchain adoption. In subsequent interviews throughout 2025 and 2026, Hoskinson has focused on promoting Midnight, a privacy-focused blockchain he describes as a "fourth-generation cryptocurrency." He has stated that Midnight's design includes a dual-tokenomics model and aims to provide "rational privacy" through selective disclosure, allowing users to prove properties about themselves without revealing all their data. Hoskinson has also been vocal about regulatory and governance issues. In multiple appearances, he criticized the U.S. Clarity Act, arguing that its language could be used by regulators to classify most cryptocurrencies as securities. He has expressed disappointment with Ethereum's current trajectory and contrasted Cardano's on-chain governance system, where ADA holders have a vote, with Bitcoin and Ethereum, where he says holders have "no say." He has also warned about the potential for quantum computers to break Bitcoin's encryption, stating that the threat is "coming much faster than everybody is anticipating." Additionally, Hoskinson discussed his involvement in a healthcare venture in Wyoming, Hoskinson Health, which he said he co-founded with his father and brother, and which he described as a 70,000-square-foot facility that served 22,000 patients before being shut down due to financial losses and lack of government support.