Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has expressed significant discontent with the extent to which macroeconomic factors are controlling the price of ADA. The broader cryptocurrency market, including Cardano, has experienced considerable volatility due to various macroeconomic events, such as tariffs, traditional banking collapses, and political tensions, all of which have impacted asset prices at different times.
Cardano Founder's Growing Frustration
Hoskinson is reportedly growing increasingly frustrated by these developments. In a recent podcast, he articulated his weariness with the current market dynamics, stating his desire for a swift and lasting change that would reduce Cardano's dependency on macroeconomic influences. He conveyed that he is "tired" of the prolonged downturn and believes others share this sentiment.
Notably, ADA has struggled to perform impressively over the past four years, failing to reach new heights since its all-time high of $3.10 in 2021. The altcoin has seen a substantial pullback, declining by 86.4% to its current price of $0.42. This bearish trajectory has persisted even during what is historically a post-halving bullish phase within its four-year cycle.
Although ADA experienced a significant rebound of 500% from its 2023 low of $0.22 to $1.32 in December 2024, it has not managed to achieve new all-time highs, unlike in previous cycles. Instead, it has relinquished most of those gains, with its current value representing only a 90% increase from its lowest point.
Macroeconomic Factors as Key Drivers of Decline
Hoskinson attributes this underwhelming performance to the undue influence of macroeconomic factors on the cryptocurrency market. He emphasized that these external events dictate the market's sentiment and direction, irrespective of the progress Cardano makes in terms of innovation and institutional adoption.
He illustrated his point by stating, "(Donald) Trump tweets something, tariffs come out, or some goddamn bank that we’ve never heard of collapses, and suddenly the market goes down 20%."
As an example, Cardano was affected by an early April crash, led by Bitcoin, which erased over a billion dollars from the cryptocurrency market within a 24-hour period. This significant correction, which preceded an intensive rebound, was reportedly driven by the imposition of tariffs by Trump on several countries.
A historical crash on October 10 also followed a tweet from Trump regarding a 100% tariff increase on Chinese goods, amid a brief rare-earth dispute. Cardano experienced a sharp decline to $0.27 on Binance before recovering to $0.70. It is noteworthy that ADA has been in a downtrend since then, correcting nearly 50% from its opening price on October 10.
Hoskinson Advocates for Unity and Independent Development
In light of these challenges, Hoskinson suggested that it is time for Cardano and the wider crypto ecosystem to unite and resist this external influence. He proposed that the industry should strive to "go their own way," implying a decoupling from the risk asset category.
To achieve this objective, Hoskinson believes that the industry must come together and focus on building independently of these external forces. He posits that such an approach would mitigate the uncontrolled impact these factors currently have on the cryptocurrency space.