Cardano (ADA) founder Charles Hoskinson (찰스 호스킨슨) pushed back against community controversy over the sidechain Midnight and a “one-way bridge” debate, calling it a “false narrative” and demanding a public apology from those who spread the criticism.

On April 6, blockchain outlet The Crypto Basic reported that Hoskinson reaffirmed his previous stance that “Midnight is not the doom of Cardano.”

The debate flared after Dave (데이브), described as a stake pool operator (SPO) and a Cardano representative (DRep), posted comments to the effect that “Midnight is ruining Cardano’s ecosystem.” He stressed the impression that Midnight is designed as a “one-way bridge,” meaning tokens can move from Cardano to Midnight but cannot return in the opposite direction.

Hoskinson drew a line, calling it a “false narrative.” He singled out Dave and demanded an apology, saying such claims, if allowed to spread, would destroy Cardano.

As community backlash grew, Hoskinson also sparred with a user claiming to be a Midnight (NIGHT) whale. The user said that if Hoskinson tried to drive core community members out of the ecosystem, the user would sell holdings and not return, and could also put on hold plans to buy back millions of ADA. Hoskinson countered that he was not harassing anyone but only asking for responsible remarks. He also said, “Cardano dies if it does not mature.”

Hoskinson said Midnight has instead sparked new interest in Cardano. He previously said on an early-month podcast, “Midnight is the first case in a long time that has made venture capital take another look at Cardano.” He added that participants benefited financially, including by giving Dave multiple revenue streams through Midnight.

Responding to criticism that it was a problem for Midnight to be launched as a sidechain rather than a layer 2, he said the partner-chain concept had been planned from the start. He said it was already mentioned during the design stage in 2016 and first unveiled at a Miami conference in 2019.

On the key issue of one-way transfers, he said it had been disclosed from the beginning. He said the white paper stated that it would first offer a one-way transfer that moves NIGHT tokens from Cardano to Midnight, and would introduce a two-way bridge enabling mutual movement between Cardano and Midnight after the mainnet launch.

The core of the dispute is whether Midnight’s structure brings a tangible scaling effect to Cardano. If, as Hoskinson described, the introduction of a two-way bridge and ecosystem synergy materialise, the controversy could subside, but if not, distrust within the community could grow further.

The largest project on Cardano, which will add billions of dollars in value to Cardano, is being treated this way. Like Whale before him, this attitude will destroy Cardano if it is allowed to continue. I want an apology from Dave. pic.twitter.com/PlK3SWnmPc