Charles Hoskinson, the visionary behind Cardano, has recently announced that the initial draft of the highly anticipated audit concerning Input Output Global’s (IOG) ADA asset holdings has arrived. In a post shared on X on July 20, he expressed enthusiasm about the draft, stating, “I just received the first copy of the audit report. I requested a lot more detail and context in several areas, but it’s shaping up quickly… I believe we are on schedule for a mid-August release, assuming the work continues at this pace and there are no delays.”
The Importance of the Audit for Cardano
This audit stands out as a critical initiative designed to dispel accusations that IOG misappropriated around $600 million worth of ADA tokens during the 2021 Allegra hard fork. The claims, first amplified by NFT artist Masato Alexander in May, suggest that Hoskinson exploited a “genesis key” to alter the blockchain and shifted 318-350 million unclaimed tokens into wallets controlled by the company.
Hoskinson has vehemently denied these allegations, labeling them as falsehoods. He asserts that the majority of the disputed coins were previously claimed by their rightful owners, with the remaining tokens being “donated to Intersect” after remaining dormant for seven years. “No matter how many times people lie, they cannot change reality,” he emphasized on May 6.
The situation intensified when social media circulated headlines in late May regarding a $600 million “theft.” “I’m absolutely disgusted… The headlines I’ve seen are beyond damaging; they will require months if not years of work and millions of dollars to undo post-audit,” Hoskinson expressed on May 20, promising to finance an independent review and publish the results comprehensively.
Joel Telpner, IOG’s chief legal and policy officer, also updated followers on the investigation via a recent post, stating: “We are making good progress on the investigative and audit report that we promised to deliver. The law firm and audit firm are close to completing their work, and we hope the report will be ready by mid-August. I’ll continue to keep you updated.”
In addition to the audit, Hoskinson hinted at a legal strategy aimed at counteracting what he views as damaging misinformation. He mentioned that he would be consulting with a defamation law firm to explore options to recover what he estimates as “hundreds of millions of dollars of brand damage” inflicted on Cardano.
An exciting aspect of the upcoming report is that Hoskinson plans to present the findings through a live stream, where he will read the entire document. Moreover, he intends to host the PDF along with other pertinent documents related to the sale on a specially dedicated website.
Despite the gravity of the situation, market reactions have shown a level of restraint. At the time of the update’s release via social media, ADA was trading at approximately $0.84—remaining stable for the day but marking a 17% increase over the week.
As of now, Cardano’s price sits at $0.889, signaling a cautious optimism in the market.
