Cardano's Charles Hoskinson says he's 'lost over $3 billion' in crypto but declined to cash out

Cardano ADA founder Charles Hoskinson revealed his personal cryptocurrency holdings have depreciated by more than $3 billion in paper value.

During a public livestream from Tokyo on Thursday, Hoskinson characterized the figure as an unrealized loss and stated he had no intention of liquidating his position.

“It’s easy for you to say, Charles, you’re rich. You can ride it out. I’ve lost more money than anyone listening to this, over $3 billion now,” Hoskinson said. “It’d have been real easy to cash out. Just walk away. And do you think I honestly care if I lose it all? Do you think I’m doing this for money? You’re pretty mistaken if you do.”

His comments were directed at a crypto community navigating a sustained market downturn. Hoskinson acknowledged conditions would likely deteriorate further, advising developers and investors to persist.

“It’ll get worse. It’ll get redder. It is what it is. But at the end of the day, are you having fun? Find a way to. And know that each and every one of you in the cryptocurrency space, you’re doing something that matters,” he said.

The broader market fell 8.7% over the past day, according to The Block’s prices page, with bitcoin and ether posting double-digit losses. Cardano’s native cryptocurrency, ADA, underperformed the general market, declining over 11% to trade at $0.25. Its current price represents a 92% drawdown from its all-time high of $3.09, set in September 2021.

A 'reset' for the industry 

Hoskinson’s latest disclosure follows a warning he issued in January. In an interview with Scott Melker on The Wolf of All Streets podcast, he said he had lost approximately $2.5 billion in paper value over the preceding four-year period. He attributed those losses to regulatory uncertainty and political interference that drove retail participants from the market.

At that time, Hoskinson framed 2026 not as a traditional bull cycle but as a fundamental "reset" for the industry. He argued the sector’s future would be determined by the development of real utility and next-generation infrastructure, rather than speculative fervor.

Despite the bleak market backdrop and personal financial erosion, Hoskinson expressed measured optimism for Cardano’s technical roadmap. During the stream, he cited ongoing development work on Layer 2 scaling solution Hydra, consensus algorithm improvement Leios, and data-protection sidechain Midnight as evidence of progress.