Cardano Founder Takes Jab at XRP Community

Alex Dovbnya

Cardano’s Hoskinson has mocked pervasive and baseless nature of such conspiratorial claims

Cardano’s founder Charles Hoskinson has once again found himself at loggerheads with the XRP community. In a series of recent posts on the X social media platform, he mocked some conspiracies surrounding Ethereum.

“You know my favorite part about the holidays is kicking the XRP ETHGate Hornet’s nest with easy to meme sound bites connected to mostly ignored nuanced points. It’s like the first snow of winter,” he tweeted.

The Cardano founder further challenged the veracity of claims that associate him with events that took place well after his tumultuous departure from the Ethereum project. He also hinted at the negative portrayal surrounding his exit from Ethereum.

Struggling to bury hatchet

In December 2022, Hoskinson declared he would no longer address questions related to XRP or Ripple, citing harassment from the XRP community over rumors of a Ripple-SEC settlement.

Hoskinson’s ties to Ethereum, having left in 2014, have been dragged into the discussion, something he openly refutes. He also sought to offer peace to the XRP community back in June, saying, “XRP Community, peace?” In July, he recognized XRP’s victory against the SEC, indicating a willingness to bury the hatchet. However, his August tweets expressed frustration at being continually linked to events that took place after his departure from Ethereum. He also addressed the conspiracy theories in September.

Long-standing conspiracy theory

At the heart of the controversy lies a conspiracy theory suggesting undue influence and favoritism by the SEC toward Ethereum at the expense of Ripple. The conspiracy stems from a belief that Ethereum may have used personal relationships and backroom dealings to divert the SEC’s attention, a theory Hoskinson has clearly stated he finds baseless.

In an interview, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse himself refused to endorse these conspiracy theories.

However, he did acknowledge certain optics around decisions made by key figures like Jay Clayton and Bill Hinman, pointing out potential conflicts of interest.

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