Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has issued further clarification on the ongoing ₳318 million ADA redemption dispute. He stated that the unclaimed funds were never accessible through private keys. In a post on X, Hoskinson explained that the Cardano ICO used a redemption system tied to a KYC-linked database, not wallet addresses controlled by buyers. The new clarification comes days after Hoskinson denied allegations of rewriting the Cardano ledger to seize unspent ICO funds.
ADA Vouchers Mapped to a KYC System, Not Spendable UTxOs
According to Hoskinson, the redemption process was managed by a “proto-smart contract” mechanism. The system mapped each redemption request to a database through a special tracking address., allowing the TGE and original voucher vendor, Attain, to follow up with buyers and assist with redemption.
However, when Attain went out of business and some buyers became unreachable, the team replaced the passive redemption system with an active one. Hoskinson explained that this step was necessary to resolve pending transactions and fulfill final allocations.
A new redemption mechanism would have to be established and an active instead of passive process needed to begin.
Hoskinson wrote.
Hoskinson also addressed a recurring misconception about ownership of ADA voucher addresses in the genesis block. He clarified that individual investors didn’t control these addresses; instead, the system used them as part of the final redemption step. This was designed to create a public record of completed transactions.
Over 9,500 of the 9,900+ buyers used this mechanism prior to the sweep. The remaining ones either were unwilling or unable to do so.
he noted.
This clarification directly refutes claims that users held private keys to those funds and were unjustly locked out of spending them.
Developer Will Release The Code and Audit Publicly
Hoskinson confirmed that developer Serokell will publicly release the original code for ADA voucher redemption alongside the upcoming audit report. This report will include a breakdown of the redemption timeline and provide transparency over how the team managed unclaimed tokens after the initial ICO period.
The upcoming report will verify the claim that buyers redeemed 99.8% of ADA vouchers, with the remaining 0.2% later repurposed for governance-related development through Intersect.
While Hoskinson’s new explanation has addressed technical aspects of the redemption system, questions remain within the community about fund reallocation. This is especially the case regarding the small percentage of ADA reportedly donated to Intersect.
The external audit report, once released, will settle the ongoing debate.
While the protocol dispute continues, Cardano’s price action shows signs of technical recovery. On the 4-hour chart, ADA has broken out of a falling parallel channel. This breakout came with rising volume, suggesting renewed bullish momentum.
At the time of writing, ADA trades near $0.805, with the Relative Strength Index (RSI) reading 69.38. This is just below overbought territory. The reading indicates strong upside pressure but hints at a possible short-term cooldown if momentum slows. A clean close above $0.81 could open the door to retesting recent highs around $0.85.
