[DigitalToday reporter Yoonseo Lee] Charles Hoskinson said tokens allocated to him before the network launched had a market value of zero, pushing back against criticism over his pre-launch allocation of Cardano (ADA).

On Nov. 11, blockchain outlet The Crypto Basic reported that Hoskinson addressed questions directly about his early ADA holdings and staking earnings.

Hoskinson was asked whether he received an early allocation of ADA and has continued to profit from it. Hoskinson said, "I made ADA, and ADA was worth 0 then." He argued that at the time there was no ADA market or ecosystem.

He said the focus should be on what was built on Cardano later, rather than on the initial allocation itself. He stressed that the Ouroboros proof-of-stake family of consensus protocols, the extended UTXO model and the Plutus smart contract platform, along with recruiting researchers and developers, academic cooperation and community engagement, created today’s value.

He pointed to Ouroboros, Cardano’s proof-of-stake (PoS) family of consensus structures, the extended UTXO model and the Plutus smart contract platform as key achievements. He said recruiting researchers and developers, building academic partnerships and maintaining ongoing communication with the community were also part of building the network’s value.

The discussion soon moved to ADA’s price. Hoskinson asked what holders expect from him on price and drew a line, saying he does not control the Cardano Foundation, Cardano’s treasury assets or the network’s consensus mechanism. His position is that because Cardano was intentionally decentralised, its founder cannot operate like a typical corporate chief executive officer (CEO).

The remarks align with growing calls for accountability within the community. Some holders have also raised the view that ADA may have been pushed down the priority list while Hoskinson focused on projects such as Midnight.

Hoskinson countered that building successful applications and an ecosystem on Cardano is how he can contribute now. He has recently mentioned that Midnight is the type of project designed to be supported by Cardano.

ADA is currently down more than 90 percent from the peak it recorded in 2021. This has increased the likelihood that debate will continue within the Cardano community over how to value the network and how far a founder should be responsible to token holders.