Hoskinsons $100 Million Proposal: Exchanging ADA for Bitcoin and Stablecoins to Boost DeFi

The founder of [Cardano](https://forklog.com/cryptorium/chto-takoe-cardano) Charles Hoskinson proposed allocating $100 million in ADA tokens from the project’s reserves to purchase Bitcoin and “stablecoins” to bolster the DeFi segment within the network.

«We could take $100 million in ADA from the treasury, convert it into a mix of stablecoins used in Cardano, specifically [USDM](https://forklog.com/news/v-seti-cardano-poyavilsya-stejblkoin-usdm) and [USDA](https://forklog.com/news/v-blokchejne-cardano-zapustyat-privyazannyj-k-dollaru-ssha-stejblkoin), and swap part of it for Bitcoin for initial [BTCFi](https://forklog.com/exclusive/stanet-li-btcfi-novym-toplivom-dlya-rosta-bitkoina),» he stated.

According to [Hoskinson](https://x.com/IOHK_Charles/status/1933146987919974841), this initiative aims to address the challenge of limited acceptance of stablecoins within the blockchain ecosystem, which hinders competitiveness in the DeFi space.

He believes that solving this issue could generate “non-inflationary income” and stimulate the growth of decentralized finance.

As reported by [DeFi Llama](https://defillama.com/stablecoins/chains), the total market capitalization of stablecoins within the network stands at $31.6 million, compared to $124.4 billion for leading Ethereum. Cardano ranks 46th among blockchains in this regard.

Currently, there are approximately $278 million worth of DeFi assets [locked](https://defillama.com/chains) in the network, placing it in 24th position. In contrast, Ethereum and Solana, which hold the top two spots, have a total value locked (TVL) of $61.7 billion and $8.3 billion, respectively.

In the past day, the ADA price has dropped by around 6%, while the overall cryptocurrency market capitalization has [declined](https://www.coingecko.com/) by 5%. The Cardano token is trading at around $0.60, approximately 60% below its all-time high recorded in September 2021. There are about 36.1 billion coins in circulation.

Some users criticized Hoskinson’s proposal to sell a significant amount of ADA due to the potential market impact on the asset’s price.

«We could convert 140 million ADA over a week or so without disrupting the market using [OTC](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Over-the-counter) and [TWAP](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trading_algorithm) orders. This is a false narrative,” he responded to opponents.

He argues that the very belief in “Cardano DeFi as a bullish trend” will create buying demand that compensates for any large-scale liquidation.

“If $100 million could move the market, Cardano would exhibit extreme volatility,” Hoskinson added.

In March, CEO of the Cardano Foundation, Frederik Gregor, noted in an interview with [CoinDesk](https://www.coindesk.com/business/2025/03/11/cardano-deep-dive-into-one-of-trump-s-reserve-tokens-and-a-blockchain-that-ignores-tvl) that he does not view TVL as a significant metric for blockchain adoption.

The head of the organization behind the development of the ecosystem stated that his goal is to maintain a level of 50% non-financial activity within the network. He referred to certain operations as “value-less transactions” in the context of “real-world use” of Cardano, such as digital identification and tracking metadata of document records.

The Cardano Foundation manages the project in collaboration with Hoskinson’s IOG and Emurgo companies, which are commercial enterprises, leading to some internal conflicts, Gregor acknowledged.

“The purpose of establishing a non-profit organization was to optimize the decision-making process based on a 10-year horizon. This differs from managing for the short term,” he clarified.

However, CoinDesk noted that users indicated more severe disagreements between the parties, describing them as a feud. Hoskinson partly [agreed](https://x.com/IOHK_Charles/status/1866870882406162874) with this assessment.

It is worth mentioning that the entrepreneur [announced](https://forklog.com/news/hoskinson-provedet-audit-cardano-foundation-posle-obvinenij-v-prisvoenii-ada-na-600-mln) an audit of the Cardano Foundation’s treasury following allegations of misappropriating $600 million in ADA.