Charles Hoskinson, the founder of Cardano , has openly criticized the governance structure of the Cardano Foundation, arguing it does not adequately involve the community. He is pushing for a significant change to a membership-based organization (MBO) to address ongoing challenges within the ecosystem. Hoskinson’s main issue with the foundation is its non-membership governance model , which he claims undermines community participation and oversight. This lack of community involvement, according to him, has created tensions and hindered the blockchain's growth. On December 28, he reiterated these concerns, suggesting an MBO would give users more control over decision-making and solve long-standing issues like social coordination, advocacy for developers, liquidity , and exchange listings. He believes a transition to an MBO would bring practical benefits, such as better oversight of payments and creating a unified entity for development contracts. “The organization should be an MBO. It would solve so many issues people have been complaining about for years,” Hoskinson stated. Earlier this month, he also urged the foundation to move to a jurisdiction where community members could elect its board, opposing the current model in which the Swiss government appoints board members, excluding the Cardano community. Hoskinson’s frustrations extend to resource management. He has highlighted Intersect, a community-led initiative, as a promising alternative but noted its limited funding and reliance on volunteers . Unlike the foundation, which has significant resources, Intersect faces an uphill battle to meet community expectations. Additionally, Hoskinson criticized the foundation for launching Pragma, another entity, instead of supporting Intersect or other community initiatives. He emphasized that the foundation should prioritize empowering existing community-led projects rather than creating competing organizations. This dispute adds to a series of disagreements between Hoskinson and the foundation, including budget allocation and differing opinions on the newly proposed Cardano constitution. While the foundation has expressed support for the constitution, it has hesitated to approve budgets, citing a need for detailed reviews. Hoskinson remains firm that an MBO is essential for the ecosystem's long-term success . He stated that if the foundation cannot adopt this model, it should at least refrain from obstructing community-driven efforts to create one. “If they don’t want to do that, then at least don’t get in the way of Intersect and the budget for the community to build one themselves,” he concluded.
