- Cardano founder said the Trump memecoin launch eroded bipartisan trust, stalling crypto legislation.
- Unstructured Trump crypto policy fostered predatory politics and politicized digital assets for years.
Cardano creator Charles Hoskinson said the Trump administration has left the U.S. crypto industry in a weaker position than it was under former President Joe Biden, arguing that political involvement and poorly timed memecoin launches damaged public trust and stalled regulation.
In an interview with CoinDesk TV, Hoskinson criticized President Donald Trump’s launch of a Trump-branded memecoin ahead of the 2025 inauguration, calling it an extractive move that institutionalized behavior previously associated with retail-driven memecoin platforms.
The Cardano founder said the rollout of Trump’s and Melania Trump’s coins undermined the chance for bipartisan crypto legislation in early 2025. He argued that without those launches, Congress might have passed both the GENIUS Act and the Clarity Act, which were seen as key to establishing a clear regulatory framework. Instead, Democratic concerns over Trump’s crypto business ties turned regulation into a partisan issue and stalled progress. He said,
“If you launch something and it’s mostly an extractive venture, then what you’ve effectively done is you’ve collapsed crypto from a public perception, to crypto equals Trump equals bad, you know, amongst the left.”
Cardano Details Trump Administration Free-For-All
According to Hoskinson, the administration failed to create structured channels for industry input, leading to what he described as a “predatory free-for-all” driven by donations and influence-seeking rather than policy goals.
He also described personal interactions as “schizophrenic.” Invitations to White House events appeared and disappeared without explanation. He also criticized the lack of communication with Cardano when its token ADA was named as part of a proposed crypto reserve, saying neither he nor his team had been consulted. Hoskinson said,
“When the president said ADA is in the reserve, XRP is in the reserve, and Solana is in the reserve, and I was just like, okay, well sh*t, I’m just gonna get subpoenaed now when the Democrats get back in power, and they’re going to think I had something to do with it. We had nothing to do with it. We never discussed it with them.”
Hoskinson Slams Crypto Czar, Signals Regulatory Delays
The Cardano founder further faulted the appointment of David Sacks as crypto czar, calling him unqualified and saying the administration failed to unite the industry around a balanced regulatory process. He warned that the lost legislative window could delay regulatory clarity until at least 2029.
Other industry voices offered a different view. CoinFund President Chris Perkins said the delay in passing the Clarity Act may not be harmful, especially after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Chevron deference, which now requires Congress to write more detailed laws. Perkins said regulators such as the CFTC and SEC have been more engaged with the industry under the current administration than before.
Despite those views, Hoskinson said the administration’s approach has politicized crypto and harmed its public perception. He argued that due to a lack of accountability, insufficient respect for the rule of law, and the absence of a clear and coherent strategy, the industry has become a weapon in political debates and no longer has a clear path forward.
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