TLDR;
- Hoskinson proposed an AI-driven virtual city to simulate and test blockchain-based economic activity.
- Midnight is positioned to enable private, compliant stablecoins tailored for regulated sectors like healthcare.
- He called for an executive governance layer to unify Cardano’s roadmap and performance goals.
- Due to sustained hostility, future AMAs will use AI moderation to ensure constructive engagement.
Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has delivered a sweeping and unfiltered update that traversed the future of blockchain, the challenges of governance, and deeply personal reflections on his journey and frustrations in the crypto space.
AI City to Test Crypto
Speaking during a surprise Ask-Me-Anything (AMA) session Saturday, the pundit opened with the provocative concept of building a virtual city populated entirely by AI agents assuming roles as consumers, criminals, law enforcement, and businesses. These agents, he explained, would use blockchain tools, including a private stablecoin, to simulate real-world interactions. The goal, Hoskinson said, is to understand how crypto performs in a complex, dynamic society.
“Why don’t you create a virtual city… and then you see what they do with it,” he noted, sketching out a future where decentralized finance is pressure-tested in sandbox environments that mimic real-life behavior.
Hokinson on Midnight
He also emphasized Cardano’s privacy-oriented layer, Midnight, as a promising venue for launching private stablecoins, especially in industries like healthcare that require both confidentiality and regulatory compliance. The team is working on trustless bridging between Midnight and Cardano’s main chain, allowing assets to move seamlessly while retaining security and stability. He suggested that a working private stablecoin on Midnight could set the standard for how such instruments should be designed in the future, stating his belief that “most stablecoins will upgrade in this direction within five years.”
Cardano Governance Overhaul Needed
Notably, a substantial portion of the AMA focused on the difficulties of managing decentralized governance. Hoskinson expressed frustration with Cardano’s current ecosystem, where multiple institutions and committees have replaced the earlier, more centralized decision-making processes. He proposed reintroducing an “executive function” to accelerate roadmapping and accountability, perhaps through an elected leadership model.
“We had too much executive function before, but now we have none, and that’s not working,” he said. Without someone directly responsible for delivery and strategy, he argued, the ecosystem risks stagnating.
He also addressed Cardano’s Bitcoin DeFi ambitions, explaining how protocols like BitVMX and a three-tier system are being developed to enable seamless Bitcoin transactions and yield generation on Cardano. This includes infrastructure for asset movement, an intuitive wallet interface, and a DeFi application layer. According to Hoskinson, these efforts will allow users to retain Bitcoin’s security guarantees while accessing decentralized services.
“Bitcoin is valuable,” he said, “not because it lives on its native chain, but because people want it. That value doesn’t vanish when it moves to a different platform.”
Hoskinson On Criticism
Despite the technical insights, it was Hoskinson’s reflections on societal trust and personal backlash that added an emotional weight to the AMA. Responding to online critics and media narratives that have accused him of misconduct, including recent claims of ADA theft linked to IOHK, he vented about the psychological toll of constant public attacks. He denounced what he called the normalization of defamation in crypto discourse, where accusations spread freely without evidence and reputational harm is treated as sport.
“Apparently, if I fight back or acknowledge that I’ve been damaged, I’m a narcissist,” he said bitterly. “That’s gaslighting.”
That said, Hoskinson reealed plans to change the AMA format entirely, using a combination of AI and human moderation to filter out trolling and falsehoods. It’s part of a broader effort, he said, to reintroduce civility and focus to Cardano’s public channels.
