Hoskinson stressed that this is not about animosity or unwillingness to engage: “It’s not like we’re on bad terms with these companies.” Instead, he argued, the absence of USDC and USDT is a rational outcome of market dynamics and value distribution. “If the founding entities are willing to put a lot of cash up and get stuff minted, that might be. But in lieu of that, it’s not for people at that size,” he said.
He also challenged the belief that securing Circle or Tether would fundamentally transform Cardano’s DeFi sector. “People seem to think that the inclusion of Circle and Tether will somehow magically supercharge the Cardano ecosystem. That’s just not true. It’s the opposite,” Hoskinson asserted. “If you have a thriving DeFi ecosystem, ample stablecoin options are an organic consequence of that. But thriving stablecoins don’t cause you to have a thriving DeFi ecosystem.”
Highlighting Algorand’s experience—where hundreds of millions in USDC were minted but had little effect on its DeFi traction—Hoskinson warned against mistaking presence for impact. Instead, he called on the Cardano community and ecosystem actors to focus on building internal capacity. “Build up the stablecoins,” he said, reiterating plans for a Cardano sovereign wealth fund intended to bootstrap ecosystem liquidity. “The proposal will come out at Rare Evo. And I think it’ll put that first $100 million in.”
He also noted the potential for Bitcoin DeFi to serve as a Trojan horse: if Cardano can become a stablecoin issuance platform for Bitcoin and Lightning Network users, the incentives for Circle and Tether to onboard may increase organically. “Bitcoin DeFi will bring a shit ton of TVL if it’s done correctly into the Cardano ecosystem,” he said. “I told them I’d be willing to do it for free.”
Until Cardano’s DeFi ecosystem can offer serious TVL and user demand, he suggested, no amount of negotiation or goodwill will be enough. “You always strategically negotiate from a position of strength,” Hoskinson said. For now, that means building—internally, deliberately, and from the ground up.
At press time, ADA traded at $0.5899.
