TLDR

  • Hoskinson stated that Cardano possesses the biggest DAO in terms of participant count and voting engagement.

  • The Cardano treasury contains 1.65 billion ADA, which is approximately valued at $429 million.

  • According to Ali Martinez, Cardano’s Total Value Locked (TVL) declined from roughly $700 million to $136 million.

  • Hoskinson emphasized that practical utility and user experience are now more important than claims about infrastructure.

Cardano has returned to the forefront after Charles Hoskinson characterized it as the biggest Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) in cryptocurrency. He highlighted its governance size, robust treasury, and sustained community collaboration.

However, this assertion came as critics reiterated worries about Cardano’s rate of adoption and on-chain engagement. Market analyst Ali Martinez contended that the network still lacks a compelling application and lags behind leading competitors in total value locked.

Charles Hoskinson Points to Governance Scale and Treasury Strength

Hoskinson asserted that Cardano currently features one of the most sophisticated governance systems in crypto. He presented this argument while talking about the network’s evolution into a completely decentralized protocol framework.

This evolution commenced with the Chang hard fork in September 2024. Progress continued with the Plomin hard fork in January 2025. Collectively, these upgrades advanced Cardano further into its Voltaire phase.

As per Charles Hoskinson, Cardano also hosts the largest DAO in crypto based on user base and voting participation. He indicated that this scale provides the network with a unique governance edge among major digital assets. He also cited Cardano’s treasury as a significant asset for future development. Reported data indicated reserves of 1.65 billion ADA, valued at around $429 million.

These resources are generated from a portion of transaction fees and block rewards. Over time, the community can deploy them to fund projects, tools, and ecosystem expansion.

Cardano Founder Says Utility now Matters More than Theory

Charles Hoskinson stated that adoption cannot be achieved through technical assertions by themselves. He explained that users and enterprises do not select a network solely based on its theoretical superiority. On the contrary, he said that user experience and tangible utility are now the primary drivers of adoption. This perspective reflects a broader trend in crypto, where networks compete based on products and actual applications.

He further noted that Cardano needs to effectively utilize its governance framework. Failure to do so would mean the network’s treasury and voting mechanism provide little practical benefit.

Hoskinson expressed that Cardano can still outperform its rivals by developing valuable services. He connected this objective to Pentad and wider initiatives aimed at boosting genuine ecosystem engagement. He also reaffirmed his dedication to Cardano following ten years of involvement. He encouraged the community to unite and speed up the network’s advancement.

Critics Focus on TVL, Adoption, and Developer Traction

Martinez presented a contrasting opinion, labeling Cardano the “most useless network” in crypto. His critique focused on the chain’s decentralized finance (DeFi) presence and its sluggish expansion. He mentioned that Cardano’s total value locked never exceeded $1 billion. He added that TVL hit a high of nearly $700 million the previous year before falling to approximately $136 million.

Martinez drew a comparison between this figure and those of Ethereum and Solana. He stated that Ethereum maintains about $55 billion in TVL, while Solana achieved over $12 billion in September 2025.

He also observed that Solana’s TVL is now around $6.6 billion. Furthermore, he said SUI has overtaken Cardano, with a current TVL near $568 million after reaching a peak of $2.5 billion. Martinez maintained that Cardano still does not have a distinct use case that attracts users, developers, and investors. He also suggested that the network’s slower deployment allowed competitors to establish more robust ecosystems.

Martinez said Cardano’s research-focused approach delayed product launches relative to faster-moving rivals. He proposed that initial growth typically attracts more capital and developer interest. This dynamic, he argued, makes it more difficult for slower networks to catch up subsequently. His remarks intensified an existing discussion regarding Cardano’s standing in the market.