Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson said during a June 14-15 livestream that 1,096 BTC held by the Cardano Foundation were used in 2016/2017 to pay audit process fees. 117 Partners founder Thomas Braziel responded, saying the explanation is specific but demanded that invoices, agreements, approval documents, and payment records be made public.
Hoskinson’s specific explanation provided in the AMA
According to Hoskinson’s publicly stated remarks during the AMA livestream:
Date: March 13, 2016, Bitcoin closing price was about $414 (independent data shows it was close to $412 that day, consistent with Hoskinson’s quote)
Three designated auditors: Michael Parsons, John Maguire, Bruce Milligan
Fees: Based on the Bitcoin price at the time, totaling about $400,000
Purpose: Conduct an audit of Japan crowdfunding activities to verify whether there was waste or misuse
Crowdfunding size: About $62 million, almost entirely from Japanese investors
In the AMA, Hoskinson said the repeated calls for transparency were meant to inflame tensions rather than solve problems: “The purpose of the accusations is not the accusations themselves, but to provoke anger.”
Braziel’s confirmation and questioning: four pending documents and the IOHK 95% issue
Thomas Braziel posted on X confirming: “In today’s AMA, Charles provided the most specific explanation so far about the fate of the 1,096 BTC held by the Isle of Man Foundation.”
Braziel also raised the following confirmation questions:
Follow-up demand: Request that invoices, agreements, approval documents, and payment records be made public
Timing dispute: Hoskinson cited the Bitcoin price from 2016, but the actual auditing work should have been carried out afterward, when Bitcoin had risen to above $1,200
Core issue: “The problem has never been whether auditing needs to cost money. The issue is where the 1,096 BTC went, who received it, and why.”
IOHK issue: If the Foundation’s assets were used to address disputes involving Parsons, how did IOHK ultimately control about 95% of the fundraising BTC and collect tens of billions of ADA, while the Foundation only received a small portion of the economic gains?
Parsons resignation confirmation timeline
According to a public statement released by the Cardano Foundation on November 13, 2018, after Michael Parsons publicly accused IOHK and EMURGO of shortcomings in transparency and governance, he immediately resigned as chairman of the Foundation; Pascal Schmid temporarily took over as chairman.
FAQ
Has Cardano Foundation officially confirmed Hoskinson’s specific claim that 1,096 BTC was used for audit fees?
According to reports, Hoskinson’s explanation was a personal statement during the AMA livestream, not an official statement from the Cardano Foundation. Braziel, in comments on X, confirmed this as the “most specific explanation so far,” but also demanded that the relevant supporting documents be made public.
What is the basis for Braziel’s claim that IOHK controlled “about 95% of the fundraising BTC”?
Braziel raised the question in a post on X, but did not provide specific data sources in the cited text. He asked Hoskinson to publicly disclose invoices, agreements, and payment records to support the audit-fee claim, and listed the proportion obtained by IOHK as a follow-up issue needing explanation.
What is ADA’s current price performance?
According to reports, after this AMA, ADA was trading at about $0.1669, down about 3% on the day, ranking 17th by market cap.
