Hoskinson cites technical barriers, security concerns, and low yields as potential issues.
Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has directed criticism toward the ADA community for contributing to the network’s decentralized finance challenges. The founder shared his perspective during a recent podcast, suggesting that token holders are not sufficiently engaging with native DeFi platforms.
Hoskinson stated that Cardano’s total value locked would be between seven and eight digits if ADA users adopted their native DeFi applications. The founder questioned how the network can attract users from Solana, Ethereum, and other chains to “come and play in our backyard if our own people and our own ecosystem aren’t using our DeFi products.”
Cardano trails other networks in decentralized finance despite its status as a smart contract platform. As a utility network, it ranks lowest among comparable native chains by a considerable margin. Several newer and emerging ecosystems continue to outperform Cardano in this metric.
Hoskinson emphasized that this concern requires proper deliberation within the community and that reasons for low participation need explanation. He identified several potential problems including lack of technical knowledge, security concerns, poor user experience, and insufficient yields.
The founder insisted that addressing these issues would substantially increase DeFi usage on the network. He stated that Cardano’s TVL should reach at least $5 to $10 billion rather than its current level.
Cardano’s TVL currently stands at $262 million according to DeFiLlama data. A $10 billion TVL would represent a 3,716% increase from the present figure. This would potentially position Cardano third in current rankings, trailing only Ethereum at $84.22 billion and Solana at $11.17 billion.
Reactions to Hoskinson’s comments supported his assessment. One user highlighted that Cardano has sufficient users and capital to build a thriving DeFi ecosystem independently, but holders are not actively participating in the chain’s applications.
The conversation contributes to growing efforts to increase Cardano’s TVL. The network is working to unlock Bitcoin and XRP DeFi capabilities, developments teased as potentially changing the struggling state of the sector on Cardano.
Hoskinson’s direct criticism of the community represents an unusual approach for a blockchain founder. Most project leaders focus on attracting external users rather than questioning their existing holder base’s participation levels.
