Charles Hoskinson urges Cardano Foundation to leave Switzerland for community-driven governance

Charles Hoskinson, the founder of Cardano, has called for the Cardano Foundation to relocate to a jurisdiction that allows its users to elect board members.

He raised this issue in a Dec. 18 post on social media platform X while encouraging the Cardano community to question the Foundation about its board structure and decision-making processes.

The Cardano founder expressed concerns about the current arrangement, where the Swiss government appoints board members without community input. He also urged the community to inquire about individuals connected to the Foundation’s past decisions and its relationship with Intersect.

Considering this, Hoskinson criticized the Foundation for remaining in Switzerland instead of relocating to regions like Abu Dhabi or Wyoming, which support more inclusive governance models.

According to Hoskinson, such a move would allow the community to collaborate with the Foundation on a new structure that fosters transparency and member participation. He stated:

“The foundation shouldn’t be in Switzerland. There are many jurisdictions that allow for different DLT foundations like Abu Dhabi or Wyoming. The community could design with the CF a new structure, and the CF could grant the funds to this structure.”

Cardano Foundation setup

The Cardano Foundation, established in 2016, operates under Swiss law, which doesn’t allow for community-based board elections. The Foundation explained that:

“The foundation model is the legal form that was chosen in 2016 when the Cardano Foundation was set up. If the goal was to create a membership-based model, the legal form of a Swiss association, such as we used for PRAGMA, would have been a more suitable choice.”

Meanwhile, Hoskinson’s latest comments come as the organization continues to face criticism over governance issues, internal conflicts, and alleged marginalization of key contributors.

Despite efforts to improve transparency through open forums, calls for leadership restructuring persist. Currently, the Foundation plans to host an X Spaces series in which its top leadership will provide more insight on matters concerning its operations.

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