Claims Deepen in This Major Altcoin: Did the Founder Sell a Large Amount of Coin? Theory Emerged

The founder of Cardano, Charles Hoskinson, has denied allegations that he misappropriated more than 500 million dollars worth of ADA from the community fund. However, the doubts of investors and community members have not yet subsided.

After the scandal, Hoskinson announced that Input Output Global (IOG) would be fully audited and that control of its social media accounts would be handed over to independent researchers; however, he continues to be the target of criticism.

As the details of the incident, referred to as the "redeem scandal" and involving 318 million ADA, are being translated, the audit process continues. In this environment of uncertainty, a new theory emerged on social media: the claim that Hoskinson obtained wealth indirectly from unsold ADA.

According to critics, although Hoskinson claims not to have sold ADA directly, he may have transferred these assets to asset managers or guided this process. These asset managers may have sold shares to individual investors through ADA-backed exchange-traded products (ETP).

According to the claim, Hoskinson has received a share from these funds and later may have converted these shares into cash thanks to the capital directed to ETPs by third-party investors. This method may allow him to claim that he did not sell ADA directly, while enabling him to profit indirectly.

Some ETP structures allow large investors to withdraw shares for cash, provided they pay certain transaction fees. This situation allegedly enables Hoskinson to access cash in exchange for ADA tokens that have technically not been sold.

Some ETPs with 100% allocation to Cardano include the 21Shares Cardano ETP, CoinShares Physical Staked Cardano, WisdomTree Physical Cardano, Bitwise Physical Cardano ETP, Wave ADA Yield Fund, and Valour Cardano ETP. Apart from that, there are also many publicly traded altcoins and cryptocurrency index funds that include ADA. However, there is no public information on whether Hoskinson or his affiliated companies provided ADA to these funds.

Charles Hoskinson expresses his long-term commitment to ADA and its community at every opportunity. Frequently referencing his background as one of the co-founders of Ethereum, Hoskinson has repeatedly stated that he does not need to sell ADA.

Hoskinson, who categorically denied the allegations in question, stated that he fully supported the process carried out by the independent auditing firm BDO and the law firm McDermott Will & Emery.

IOG stated in its announcement that the claims made are "baseless and malicious" and are a product of a "coordinated FUD campaign" crafted around the ADA refund program targeting Japanese investors.