Charles Hoskinson said he once held 108,000 bitcoin after converting funds raised in Cardano’s early crowdsale, and argued that long-standing ties in the bitcoin community could help draw bitcoin liquidity into Cardano’s DeFi. He laid out conditions aimed at bitcoin holders, including self-custody and no forced moves to layer-2 solutions. Input Output Group’s Pogun plan includes a 2026 roadmap, while figures cited showed reduced proof-data size, faster verification and lower costs. Pogun’s CEO said borrowers signaled $500 million in demand and regulated institutions showed interest in supplying up to $1 billion.

Charles Hoskinson pushed back against criticism of Cardano and voiced confidence in its long-term growth, saying it would win the fight. His comments came as scrutiny increased over ADA\'s weak performance and criticisms of Cardano\'s ecosystem. ADA rose from $0.21 to $0.2577 and was up about 27 percent over the past week, before slipping back to around $0.2212. Developers are pursuing network upgrades including Ouroboros Leios and Hydra, while Cardano seeks expansion into DeFi and real-world finance-related projects.