Charles Hoskinson, the founder of Cardano, has called on the Cardano Foundation to move to a jurisdiction where its users can elect board members.
He raised the issue in a December 18 post on social media platform X, while encouraging the Cardano community to question the Foundation about its governance structure and decision-making processes.
Cardano’s founder expressed concerns about the current arrangement, where the Swiss government appoints board members without community input. He also urged the community to inquire about individuals related to the Foundation’s previous decisions and its relationship with Intersect.
In light of this, Hoskinson criticized the Foundation for remaining in Switzerland rather than moving to regions such as Abu Dhabi or Wyoming, which support more inclusive governance models.
According to Hoskinson, such a move would allow the community to work with the Foundation on a new structure that promotes transparency and member participation. He stated:
“The foundation should not be in Switzerland. There are many jurisdictions that allow different DLT foundations, such as Abu Dhabi or Wyoming. The community could work with the CF to design a new structure, and the CF could provide the funds for this structure.”
Establishment of Cardano Foundation
Founded in 2016, the Cardano Foundation operates under Swiss law, which does not allow community-based board elections. The Foundation explained that:
“The foundation model is the legal form chosen in 2016 when the Cardano Foundation was established. If the goal was to create a membership-based model, the legal form of a Swiss association, as we used for PRAGMA, would have been a more suitable choice.”
Meanwhile, Hoskinson’s latest comments come as the organization continues to face criticism over governance issues, internal conflict and perceived marginalization of key contributors.
Despite efforts to improve transparency through open forums, calls for leadership restructuring persist. Currently the Foundation plans to organize an X Spaces series in which top management will provide more insight into matters related to its activities.