Who is Charles Hoskinson?
Charles Hoskinson is a Colorado-based mathematician and technology entrepreneur. He is also the founder of Cardano and a co-founder of Ethereum, which are two of the world’s most popular cryptocurrency networks. Hoskinson started off in consulting, but quit his job in 2013 to focus on crypto and its potential, believing that the limited supply quality of Bitcoin made it a form of digital gold. Later that year, he developed the BitShares network, an early decentralized exchange platform. Then, he started the “Bitcoin Education Project,” where he met Vitalik Buterin and together (along with several other co-founders) they started Ethereum.
Though Hoskinson was the CEO of Ethereum, his stint at the company did not last long. Hoskinson disagreed with Vitalik Buterin’s vision for ETH and left the project in June 2014. Together, with Jeremy Wood (another co-founder of ETH), Hoskinson started their own blockchain project “Input Output (IOHK),” a third-party development company that builds cryptocurrencies and blockchains for academic institutions, governments and corporations. He is currently the CEO of IOHK; their mission is to supply financial services for the 3 billion people around the world who do not have transparent and equitable financial and governance systems. The most notable project to come out of IOHK is Cardano, a blockchain and smart-contract platform that uses an internal cryptocurrency called ADA.
Hoskinson has funded several blockchain technology research labs around the world including at the University of Edinburgh, Tokyo Institute of Technology and the University of Wyoming. He has been critical of the growing energy consumption problem inherent to Bitcoin, and claims that Cardano is far more energy efficient. He has continuously campaigned for crypto industries and been instrumental in changing people's perception of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.
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On the "Ethereum has achieved the Network Effect" topic: “No..It’s the great lie of our space… For every 1 Dapp created on Ethereum, there are 1000 cell phone applications created. They say 'we’re the dominant platform'. Yes.. you’re the dominant platform…but that's like saying You’re the biggest fish, in a very tiny pond, next to the OCEAN! No One has achieved Network Effect!!"
Picture source: CoinDesk