In a recent discussion, Charles Hoskinson, the creator of Cardano (ADA), didn’t shy away from expressing strong opinions. Hoskinson criticized Ethereum (ETH), likening its governance to a “dictatorship” led by Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum’s prominent co-founder. Unlike Ethereum, Cardano utilizes a Voltaire-era governance model that empowers the community to make decisions collectively, thereby avoiding centralized control. Hoskinson believes that Cardano strikes a balance between the anarchy of Bitcoin (BTC) and the dictatorship of Ethereum, providing a decentralized voice for all participants. During an interview at Token2049 in Singapore with Cointelegraph, Hoskinson emphasized the importance of community-driven decision-making to foster progress while maintaining decentralization.
Expanding on his initial analogy of Ethereum as a dictatorship, Hoskinson reiterated his view that Ethereum’s vision revolves significantly around Buterin, who holds considerable influence in shaping the network’s direction. Hoskinson raised concerns about Ethereum’s strategic decisions, attributing the shift to Buterin’s leadership. While Ethereum temporarily scaled through rollups and layer-2 solutions, criticisms have emerged regarding Ethereum’s declining base layer activity and fee revenue, particularly with the rise of “extractive L2s.” Hoskinson questioned the extent to which Buterin’s vision dictates Ethereum’s strategic roadmap, underscoring his belief that Ethereum’s trajectory should be guided by a decentralized community rather than the vision of a single individual.