Cardano’s Charles Hoskinson Preps Explosive August Audit Amid $600 Million ADA Scandal

Cardano co-founder Charles Hoskinson is preparing to go public with a highly anticipated audit report, which will be released in mid-August.

His announcement comes amid swirling accusations that Input-Output Global (IOG), the company behind Cardano’s development, improperly acquired hundreds of millions of ADA.

$600 Million ADA Allegations Prompt Mid-August Cardano Audit Release

In May, fake headlines circulated across social media, falsely accusing Charles Hoskinson of orchestrating a $600 million ADA 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 wrote in a May 20 post.

The claim centered on unproven allegations that IOG used a “genesis key” to manipulate the Cardano ledger during the 2021 Allegra hard fork. Based on the claims, the team allocated roughly 350 million ADA to itself.

Beyond denying the rumors, Hoskinson committed to an audit and potential legal action against propagators. The Cardano executive reiterated the commitment on Sunday, July 20, pledging to publish a full audit of IOG’s ADA holdings.

Hoskinson confirmed that the audit report is progressing well and on track for mid-August.

“I will read the entire report via livestream once it becomes available,” he said.

He also articulated that a dedicated website will permanently host the document and other historical artifacts from the ADA sale. Joel Telpner, Chief Legal and Policy Officer at IOG, echoed Hoskinson’s timeline.

Hello Cardano Community. 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 are hoping the report will be ready to release by the middle of August. I’ll continue to…

— Joel Telpner (@JTelpner) July 20, 2025

Some users express concerns about the scope of the audit and who defines the parameters. Others also call for more detail and context to strengthen the report for public release.

Meanwhile, Hoskinson said the audit will directly address claims that IOG secretly allocated unclaimed ADA to itself.

According to Hoskinson, most of the 350 million ADA referenced had already been claimed by rightful owners.

He explained that the remainder was transferred to Intersect, a governance body in the Cardano ecosystem, following a seven-year grace period. He also hinted at legal action against individuals spreading defamatory claims.

“Meeting with the defamation law firm next week to discuss options and strategy,” he stated.

The upcoming audit may prove pivotal for Cardano’s credibility. With tensions high and the project’s founder under scrutiny, August could mark a defining moment, either reaffirming Hoskinson’s leadership or deepening community fractures.