Input Output Global (IOG) founder Charles Hoskinson has refuted rumors that the company has abandoned Cardano development.
His remarks were in response to claims circulating online that IOG has discontinued its work on Cardano and shifted its focus to privacy-focused blockchain Midnight.
Important points
- Charles Hoskinson has dismissed claims that he and his company have abandoned Cardano in favor of Midnight.
- He argues that the persistence of this narrative is largely due to a lack of critical thinking on the part of some observers.
- This speculation gained momentum after Midnight’s mainnet launch and Input Output Global paused development of Project Acropolis and its tiered pricing mechanism.
- Despite these changes, our broader strategy continues to prioritize Cardano’s long-term growth and ecosystem development.
Hoskinson subtly hides critics behind rumors
Charles Hoskinson, founder of Cardano, denied speculation that IOG was pulling out of the network regarding X. His remarks came after “JUST_JINX”, an ambassador for the Midnight project, asked why some commentators in the community were claiming that Mr. Hoskinson and IOG had left the project for Midnight.
To refute this myth, the ambassador highlighted recent updates to Laios’ scaling plans. This update was published just a few hours ago and shows that development on Cardano continues to be active.
In response, Hoskinson said critics have promoted the argument that “you don’t need IQ to use computers.” His remarks suggested that many people are sharing misinformation without checking the facts or applying critical thinking.
Potential factors behind the rumors
Speculation that Hoskinson and IOG would abandon Cardano primarily emerged after two major developments. First, the Midnight mainnet, a privacy-focused sidechain connected to the Cardano ecosystem, was recently launched. During its rollout, Hoskinson and other top IOG figures pushed the project forward so aggressively that some observers believed the team had changed its priorities.
IOG then announced a strategic shift that would halt development of the Acropolis project and eliminate the proposed tiered pricing model for the network. Instead of continuing these efforts, IOG has decided to direct resources to research related to chain abstraction technology and the Ouroboros Reios protocol.
By way of background, Leios is widely seen as a key component of Cardano’s future scalability strategy. Specifically, this protocol aims to significantly increase transaction throughput and overall network efficiency.
Additionally, it forms a core part of Cardano’s 2026 roadmap, which Hoskinson believes will help the network address the blockchain trilemma.
IOG still prioritizes Cardano
As part of this strategic shift, IOG has confirmed that it will return 4.1 million ADA to the Cardano Treasury, which was previously allocated to Acropolis and Pricing Initiatives. This move will ensure that the fund supports Cardano’s development in line with its long-term growth.
Despite the restructuring, development across the Cardano ecosystem continues. Our engineers continue to release updates related to Leios and other improvements. As a result, Hoskinson argues that IOG’s claims that it abandoned the project stemmed from confusion over changing priorities and not from an actual departure from the network.
