A significant step forward has been taken regarding the long-standing issues surrounding the Cardano (ADA) voucher redemption program. Input Output Global (IOG) has announced the engagement of the prestigious legal firm McDermott Will & Emery (MW&E) alongside the recognized auditing firm BDO for a comprehensive audit. Joel Telpner, IOG’s chief legal and policy officer, highlighted this initiative as an essential move to clarify any uncertainties around the program.
This audit aims to address the ongoing debate and allegations about the potential misallocation of ADA tokens during a ledger event in 2021. The key objective is to create a clear and precise historical ledger which will detail the fate of every presale token, providing insights into their status and current whereabouts.
Initiating the Audit of Cardano’s Voucher Redeemables
Emurgo, one of Cardano’s founding partners, expressed its support for the audit and encouraged the community to await the findings from this independent review. The organization emphasized that the majority of presale vouchers have been redeemed, with only a minuscule amount remaining after a thorough seven-year investigation, which even included direct outreach in Japan.
In a recent post on X, Telpner outlined the credentials of MW&E, noting its extensive network of over 1,400 lawyers worldwide and its status as a leader in the fintech sector. Furthermore, BDO was praised for its specialized digital asset forensics practice, which leverages advanced analytics to track complex token movements. He also indicated that a blockchain analytics firm would be included in the audit following routine conflict checks.
Emurgo’s statements came less than a day before Telpner’s announcement, highlighting the fact that most presale ADA vouchers have been successfully redeemed. They indicated that after the Shelley hard fork, the unredeemed tokens effectively became unspendable, necessitating an on-chain transfer to protect holders’ redemption rights. The team acknowledged the community’s concerns but warned against excessive fears and misinformation that overlook the complexities of the redemption process.
The Cardano Foundation, though not directly engaged in operations concerning vouchers post-2021, released a statement on May 19 supporting the audit and acknowledging the ongoing efforts led by the IOG team to assist holders of the remaining vouchers.
Calls for a detailed report heightened following accusations from NFT artist Masato Alexander, who claimed that IOG founder Charles Hoskinson misused “genesis keys” during the Allegra hard fork to shift approximately 318 million ADA—valued at around $619 million—out of unclaimed presale wallets into treasury accounts through a specific transaction in October 2021.
In a firm rebuttal, Hoskinson dismissed these accusations as “false and misleading,” asserting that IOG did not seize 350 million unclaimed ADA as suggested. He clarified that the residual unredeemed tokens, amounting to less than 0.2% of the crowdsale, were donated to Intersect, the governing body of Cardano. Legal action against further dissemination of these claims was also threatened.
While a specific publication date for the audit report remains unconfirmed, Telpner mentioned uncertainty about the timeline, yet underscored the urgency of the audit’s completion. Both firms have been tasked with expediting the process to ensure the findings are released promptly.
At the time of writing, the value of ADA was reported at $0.727.
