Charles Hoskinson: Trump Crypto Ventures Have Been ‘Frustrating’, But Others Don’t Want to Talk About It

Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson says there is a lot about President Donald Trump’s approach to cryptocurrency, including the president’s personal ventures in the sector, that is “frustrating” but others in the industry are afraid to talk about it.

“It’s the third rail. You can’t say anything about it,” Hoskinson said Declutter in an interview.

When chairman Donald Trump launched his own meme coin Earlier this year, just days before his return to the White House, the move threatened to undermine the U.S. cryptocurrency industry, Hoskinson said.

He told it Declutter recently, what was a fragile but bipartisan effort to establish clear rules for digital assets in the United States quickly became a partisan political liability, delaying legislation and giving industry critics an easy line of attack ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

“The moment the Trump coin launched, it went from ‘crypto equals bipartisan’ to ‘crypto equals Trump equals bad, equals corruption,’” Hoskinson shared. Declutter. “It became a campaign line for the 2026 midterm elections.”

It’s something you won’t hear many other crypto founders say, and Hoskinson believes there’s a reason for that: “We were told, ‘Keep quiet about it. Don’t say anything because then you lose access. You can never meet the president, you can’t be involved in the legislative process or any of these things,'” the Cardano founder said. “This was a general idea.”

Hoskinson said Trump’s involvement in crypto blurs the line between policy and personal interest, weakening the industry’s position in Washington just as lawmakers debated how digital assets should be regulated.

“You have just caused a massive disruption to the market and you will probably be sued if the Democrats return to power,” he said.

Even before the meme coin, while Trump was still on the campaign trail heading into the November election, the president, members of his family and business associates launched a crypto project called World freedom financial. Hoskinson also criticized the timing of this venture.

“As a private citizen he has every right to do these things, but he needs to understand that he is not divorced from the optics of the decisions he makes,” Hoskinson said.

“You don’t do something and then create a regulatory framework. You create the framework and then do it in honor of that framework. So I’m not saying don’t launch a Trump coin or World Liberty, just launch it in the new framework.”

The Strategic Bitcoin Reserve

Since returning to office, Trump has attempted to fulfill the various promises he made to crypto supporters during his re-election campaign. In March, Trump said on Truth Social that the US would create a “crypto reserve” that would include Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, XRPAnd Cardano. The plan followed an executive order establishing a strategic Bitcoin To book capitalized with seized Bitcoin.

Hoskinson said he was against expanding any reserve beyond Bitcoin, arguing that government involvement in selecting individual cryptocurrencies was tantamount to picking winners and losers in the market.

“I was very critical of the idea that the US government would start a reserve in altcoin matters,” he said. “If you’re going to do it, just keep the Bitcoin you seized.”

Thanks to law enforcement actions since 2009, including the removal of the Silk Road marketplace from the dark web and the conviction of its founder, Ross Ulbricht (WHO Trump granted a pardon in January), the US government owns approximately 200,000 BTC, worth approximately $17.1 billion.

After publicly criticizing the plan, Hoskinson said he was not invited to a private Mar-a-Lago dinner with Trump and other crypto executives earlier this year. He later said the inclusion of Cardano, which trades as ADA, in the proposed reserve looked less like a policy decision and more like an attempt to ease tensions.

“They threw in ADA because they felt bad,” Hoskinson said.

After the announcement of ADA’s inclusion in the crypto reserve, the price of the token rose by 70%, although like most major coins it has fallen hard in recent months. Hoskinson said the initial spike underlined the risks of government interference in crypto markets.

Despite the fallout, Hoskinson said he had no regrets speaking out about Trump’s crypto moves, even if it meant losing access to policymakers.

“Even if I could influence policy a little bit, it’s just not worth it from an integrity perspective,” he said. “Call it a kick.”