Cardano Founder Charles Hoskinson has recently made a candid admission about his project’s past struggles, revealing that a misstep in its early smart contract approach allowed Solana to gain the upper hand.
In a recent interview, Hoskinson reflected on Cardano’s challenges, highlighting the difficulties developers faced in building on the platform due to its rigid design prioritizing security over flexibility. This admission sheds light on the competitive dynamics between Cardano and Solana, and what Cardano is doing to regain momentum in the blockchain space.
What Went Wrong?
While reflecting on Cardano’s (ADA) past performance, Charles Hoskin recounted its impressive gains in 2021. Cardano reached an impressive milestone in September 2021, with its native token surging to an all-time high of $3.10. At the time, ADA ranked 3rd on CoinMarketCap, riding the excitement of its much-anticipated smart contract model.
However, Hoskinson acknowledged that Cardano’s rigid smart contract was a misstep, saying that they “bet wrong” on the model. It limited developer accessibility and ultimately cost the project’s momentum. The difficulty in building Cardano drove developers and projects to alternative platforms like Solana, which offered a faster and more user-friendly environment. He added, “That’s a phenomenal example of where we bet wrong.”
Solana became a go-to platform for developers looking for an Ethereum alternative, despite its past technical issues, as Cardano failed to impress them. Solana’s fast transaction speeds and low fees have attracted a large community, particularly in DeFi and NFT spaces. This drove its value up to sixth place in the global cryptocurrency rankings. In contrast, Cardano, which once held the third spot in September 2021, slipped to tenth place.
Priority for Security over Flexibility
Further, Charles Hoskinson noted that Cardano focused on security rather than flexibility. This priority helped avoid major hacks and bugs but made it hostile to builders, causing the project to miss out on key opportunities.
This rigidity, while ensuring security, limited Cardano’s ability to adapt and innovate, ultimately hindering its growth and adoption in the competitive blockchain landscape. But he added that the blockchain has started adjusting to these issues since then. By now, developers have become comfortable with building in familiar languages like Rust and TypeScript.
Smart Contract Evolution
Interestingly, Cardano has made notable strides in improving its smart contract capabilities. Following the Alonzo hard fork, which introduced Plutus smart contract functionality, the team introduced the Vasil hard fork, which further enhanced the platform’s efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Since then, Plutus has undergone continuous development, solidifying Cardano’s position as a robust blockchain platform.
According to Charles Hoskinson, Cardano’s efforts have led to significant growth, with the number of active smart contracts on its mainnet recently surpassing 300,000. This milestone indicates increased developer activity and expanding decentralized application deployment across the blockchain ecosystem.
Hoskinson’s Ambitious Healthcare Venture
Adding more intrigue to Hoskinson’s blockchain journey, he unveiled plans to reshape the US healthcare space. He announced his $200 million investment in building a revolutionary healthcare clinic in Gillette, Wyoming. The clinic, named Hoskinson Health and Wellness, focuses on patient-centred care, leveraging AI support and prioritizing affordability.
Notably, blockchain technology will play a crucial role in this project, with the Cardano founder exploring the use of zero-knowledge proofs to verify facts without compromising sensitive personal information. The clinic’s protocols are set to be open-sourced, allowing others to replicate the model and potentially transforming the healthcare industry.
