Charles Hoskinson

{{short description|American cryptocurrency entrepreneur}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2022}} {{Infobox scientist | name = Charles Hoskinson | native_name = | image = Consensus 2026 - Charles Hoskinson 05 (cropped).jpg | image_size = 260px | caption = Hoskinson in February 2026 | birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1987|11|5}} | birth_place = [[Maui]], [[Hawaii]], U.S. | fields = [[Smart contract|Digital contracts]], [[Digital currency|digital currencies]] | education = {{ubl|[[Metropolitan State University of Denver]] (attended)|[[University of Colorado Boulder]] (attended)}} | alma_mater = | known_for = Founder of [[Cardano (cryptocurrency platform)|Cardano]], co-founder of [[Ethereum]] | signature =  | footnotes = | website = [https://iohk.io/en/team/charles-hoskinson iohk.io] }}

'''Charles Hoskinson''' (born 5 November 1987<ref>{{Cite tweet |user=IOHK_Charles |number=1588683836522582016 |title=Today (Nov 5th) is my birthday. I'm 35. |date=5 November 2022}}</ref> on [[Maui]],<ref>{{Cite tweet |user=IOHK_Charles |number=1900669420181279065 |title=Time for a few days in Maui, my birthplace |date=14 March 2025}}</ref> [[Hawaii]]) is an [[Americans|American]] [[Businessperson|entrepreneur]] who is a co-founder of the [[blockchain]] engineering company IOHK, and the [[Cardano (blockchain platform)|Cardano]] blockchain platform,<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Will Cardano shake finance to its foundations? Jim Duffy comment |last1=Duffy |first1=Jim |url=https://www.scotsman.com/business/will-cardano-shake-finance-its-foundations-jim-duffy-comment-2872553 |newspaper=The Scotsman |language=en |date=June 3, 2020 |access-date=June 11, 2020 |archive-date=June 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200603063548/https://www.scotsman.com/business/will-cardano-shake-finance-its-foundations-jim-duffy-comment-2872553 |url-status=live }}</ref> and was a co-founder of the [[Ethereum]] blockchain platform.<ref name=Bloomberg /><ref name=crisis>{{Cite web |url=https://fortune.com/2019/04/08/ethereum-cofounder-governance-charles-hoskinson/ |title=Ethereum Cofounder Says Blockchain Presents 'Governance Crisis' |date=April 8, 2019 |last=Hackett |first=Robert |website=Fortune |language=en |access-date=April 1, 2020 |archive-date=April 9, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190409120627/https://fortune.com/2019/04/08/ethereum-cofounder-governance-charles-hoskinson/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Early life and education== Hoskinson attended [[Metropolitan State University of Denver]] and the [[University of Colorado Boulder]] to study mathematics.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://iohk.io/team/charles-hoskinson/|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180310165358/https://iohk.io/team/charles-hoskinson/|archive-date = March 10, 2018|title = IOHK {{!}} Leadership - Charles Hoskinson}}</ref>

==Career== In 2013, Hoskinson quit a [[consulting]] job to begin a project called the Bitcoin Education Project. According to Hoskinson, the limited supply makes [[Bitcoin]] like a digital form of [[Gold as an investment|gold]].<ref name="Forbes_Story">{{Cite web|author=Angel Au-Yeung|date=February 7, 2018|title=A Fight Over Ethereum Led A Cofounder To Even Greater Crypto Wealth|url=https://forbes.com/sites/angelauyeung/2018/02/07/charles-hoskinson-ethereum-iohk-blockchain-crypto-cryptocurrency/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180207113952/https://forbes.com/sites/angelauyeung/2018/02/07/charles-hoskinson-ethereum-iohk-blockchain-crypto-cryptocurrency/|archive-date=February 7, 2018|access-date=July 12, 2020|work=Forbes Magazine|quote=IOHK's key project: Cardano, a public blockchain and smart-contract platform which hosts the Ada cryptocurrency.}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |url=https://bbc.com/worklife/article/20130702-should-you-invest-in-bitcoins |title=Does digital currency have staying power? |last=Gustke |first=Constance |date=July 3, 2013 |website=BBC |access-date=November 1, 2020 |archive-date=November 12, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112030641/https://bbc.com/worklife/article/20130702-should-you-invest-in-bitcoins |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Cardano.svg|262px|thumb| The logo of Cardano, a cryptocurrency developed by Hoskinson's company, IOHK.]]

[[File:Charles-Falcon2.jpg|thumb|Hoskinson in Mongolia in 2018]]

He joined the Ethereum team as one of five original founders with [[Vitalik Buterin]] in late 2013<ref name=Bloomberg>{{Cite web|url=https://bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-07-18/ethereum-co-founder-says-crypto-coin-market-is-ticking-time-bomb|title=Ethereum Co-Founder Says Crypto Coin Market Is a Time-Bomb|last=Russo|first=Camila|date=July 18, 2017|website=Bloomberg|access-date=April 22, 2020|archive-date=June 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200612040457/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-07-18/ethereum-co-founder-says-crypto-coin-market-is-ticking-time-bomb|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=paumgarten>{{Cite magazine |url=https://newyorker.com/magazine/2018/10/22/the-prophets-of-cryptocurrency-survey-the-boom-and-bust |title=The Prophets of Cryptocurrency Survey the Boom and Bust |last=Paumgarten |first=Nick |date=15 October 2018 |magazine=The New Yorker |access-date=25 March 2022 |archive-date=9 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200109123640/https://newyorker.com/magazine/2018/10/22/the-prophets-of-cryptocurrency-survey-the-boom-and-bust |url-status=live }}</ref> and held the position of [[chief executive]]. Buterin and the Ethereum team removed Hoskinson in 2014 after a dispute over whether the project should be commercial (Hoskinson's view) or a [[nonprofit]] (Buterin's view).<ref name=Bloomberg/><ref name=paumgarten />

In late 2014, Hoskinson and former Ethereum colleague Jeremy Wood formed IOHK (Input Output Hong Kong), an engineering and research company, to build [[cryptocurrencies]] and blockchains.<ref name="Forbes_Story" /> IOHK's key project is [[Cardano (cryptocurrency platform)|Cardano]], a public blockchain and [[smart contract]] platform that hosts the ADA cryptocurrency.<ref name="Forbes_Story" /><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Cryptocurrencies/Startups-push-blockchain-beyond-cryptocurrency |title=Startups push blockchain beyond cryptocurrency |last=Sugiura |first=Eri |date=July 2, 2018 |website=Nikkei Asian Review |language=en |access-date=June 12, 2020 |archive-date=June 12, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200612090024/https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Cryptocurrencies/Startups-push-blockchain-beyond-cryptocurrency |url-status=live }}</ref> Hoskinson did not pursue [[venture capital]] for Cardano, saying that it ran counter to the blockchain's principles.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/01/business/dealbook/crypto-venture-capital.html |title=Venture Capital Funding for Crypto Companies Is Surging |last=Livni |first=Ephrat |date=December 1, 2021 |website=The New York Times |language=en |access-date=December 7, 2021 |archive-date=December 6, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211206173132/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/01/business/dealbook/crypto-venture-capital.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Hoskinson has also said that venture capital involvement might lead to an outsized control of a project.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/22/business/jack-dorsey-bitcoin-web3-vc.html |title=Jack Dorsey and venture capitalists clash over the future of cryptocurrency. |last=Livni |first=Ephrat |date=December 22, 2021 |website=The New York Times |language=en |access-date=December 22, 2021 |archive-date=December 22, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211222164155/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/22/business/jack-dorsey-bitcoin-web3-vc.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

IOHK has sponsored research focused on blockchain technology at the [[University of Edinburgh]], [[Tokyo Institute of Technology]], [[Stanford University]], and the [[University of Wyoming]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Williams-Grut |first=Oscar |date=February 24, 2017 |title=The University of Edinburgh is launching a blockchain research lab with one of the cofounders of Ethereum |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/iohk-sponsors-blockchain-research-lab-at-the-university-of-edinburgh-tokyo-tech-2017-2 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200328114704/https://www.businessinsider.com.au/iohk-sponsors-blockchain-research-lab-at-the-university-of-edinburgh-tokyo-tech-2017-2 |archive-date=March 28, 2020 |access-date=March 28, 2020 |website=Business Insider Australia |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Stanford IOG Research Hub |url=https://tselab.stanford.edu/iorh/ |access-date=2023-04-20 |website=tselab.stanford.edu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Hamilton |first=Eve |date=February 14, 2020 |title=University of Wyoming Receives $500,000 Cryptocurrency Donation |url=https://kgab.com/university-of-wyoming-receives-500000-donation-in-cryptocurrency/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200612051335/https://kgab.com/university-of-wyoming-receives-500000-donation-in-cryptocurrency/ |archive-date=June 12, 2020 |access-date=May 5, 2020 |website=KGAB AM650}}</ref>

''Forbes'' magazine estimated Hoskinson's wealth as $500m–$600m in 2018.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Au-Yeung |first1=Angel |title=A Fight Over Ethereum Led A Cofounder To Even Greater Crypto Wealth |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/angelauyeung/2018/02/07/charles-hoskinson-ethereum-iohk-blockchain-crypto-cryptocurrency/ |access-date=12 February 2023 |work=Forbes |date=7 February 2018 |language=en}}</ref>

==Philanthropy==

In September 2021, Hoskinson donated $20 million to [[Carnegie Mellon University]]'s philosophy department to establish and run the Hoskinson Center for Formal Mathematics with the goal of studying [[Mathematical logic#Formal logical systems|formal logical systems]].<ref>{{Cite press release |date=September 2021 |title=Carnegie Mellon Receives $20 Million to Establish Hoskinson Center for Formal Mathematics in Dietrich College |work= Carnegie Mellon University |url=http://www.cmu.edu/news/stories/archives/2021/september/hoskinson-center-for-formal-mathematics.html|access-date=September 27, 2021 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Hronec |first1=Jordyn |title=Blockchain entrepreneur gifts $20 million to Carnegie Mellon University to establish mathematics center |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/news/2021/09/22/blockchain-entrepreneur-gifts-20-mil-to-cmu.html |access-date=September 27, 2021 |work=Pittsburgh Business Times |publisher=www.bizjournals.com |date=September 22, 2021}}</ref>

Hoskinson contributed $1.5 million to fund a 2023 [[The Galileo Project|Galileo Project]] expedition led by astronomer and "alien hunter" [[Avi Loeb]] to explore debris from the meteorite [[CNEOS 2014-01-08]] (also called IM1) that crashed into the Pacific Ocean in 2014.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Fletcher |first=Seth |date=2023-08-24 |title=How a Harvard Professor Became the World's Leading Alien Hunter |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/24/magazine/avi-loeb-alien-hunter.html |access-date=2024-08-14 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name="NYT-20230724">{{cite news |last=Miller |first=Katrina |title=Scientist's Deep Dive for Alien Life Leaves His Peers Dubious - Avi Loeb, a Harvard astrophysicist, says that material recovered from the seafloor could be from an extraterrestrial spacecraft. His peers are skeptical. + comment |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/24/science/avi-loeb-extraterrestrial-life.html |date=24 July 2023 |work=[[The New York Times]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230906032738/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/24/science/avi-loeb-extraterrestrial-life.html#permid=126537672 |archive-date=September 6, 2023 |access-date=6 September 2023 }}</ref><ref name=Kloor>{{cite news |last1=Kloor |first1=Keith |title=How Wealthy UFO Fans Helped Fuel Fringe Beliefs |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-wealthy-ufo-fans-helped-fuel-fringe-beliefs/ |access-date=September 6, 2023 |work=Scientific American |date=August 25, 2023 |language=en}}</ref> Loeb argued that this object could have been created by alien life, an idea that lacked widespread support from the scientific community.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Tenorio |first1=Rich |title=Avi Loeb's claims of finding possible alien technology are polarizing scientists |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/avi-loebs-claims-of-finding-possible-alien-technology-are-polarizing-scientists/ |access-date=September 6, 2023 |work=Times of Israel |date=July 27, 2023}}</ref><ref name="NYT-20230724"/><ref name=Kloor/> The expedition reported finding tiny metallic spheres from the object on the ocean floor. Loeb claimed his team's analysis of these spherules did not match any known alloy, though it was unclear whether they were artificial or natural in origin.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ferreira |first=Becky |date=2023-06-21 |title=Scientists Are Hunting for Alien Objects in the Ocean, And They've Just Found Something |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/scientists-are-hunting-for-alien-objects-in-the-ocean-and-theyve-just-found-something/ |access-date=2023-08-29 |website=Vice |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-07-05 |title=Why a Harvard professor thinks he may have found fragments of an alien spacecraft |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/avi-loeb-interstellar-object-aliens-b2369534.html |access-date=March 24, 2024 |website=The Independent |language=en}}</ref> However, a paper published by the [[American Astronomical Society]] In October showed that the chemical compositions provided by Loeb's analysis most closely matched human-produced coal ash.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-11-14 |title=No, Those Weird Spherules Weren't Alien Tech |url=https://www.popularmechanics.com/space/deep-space/a45839996/those-spherules-were-not-alien-tech/ |access-date=2024-05-01 |website=Popular Mechanics |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Personal life == As of 2022, Hoskinson purchased an 11,000-acre buffalo ranch near [[Wheatland, Wyoming]], donated equipment to the Platte County Sheriff's Office, and purchased a restaurant in Wheatland.<ref>{{Cite web |title=New Wheatland resident comes bearing gifts |url=https://pcrecordtimes.com/article/new-wheatland-resident-comes-bearing-gifts |access-date=2022-07-29 |website=PC Record Times}}</ref><ref name="eagle1">{{Cite web |last=Eagle |first=Noah Zahn Wyoming Tribune |date=2025-02-01 |title=Wyoming crypto billionaire to get involved in politics, announcing new PAC |url=https://www.wyomingnewsnow.tv/news/state/wyoming-crypto-billionaire-to-get-involved-in-politics-announcing-new-pac/article_4ad1951b-37eb-5c43-ae44-affeb1a7bddd.html |access-date=2025-02-06 |website=Wyoming News Now |language=en}}</ref> He also has a farm in [[Boulder, Colorado]].<ref name="eagle1"/>

In 2023 Hoskinson, along with his father and brother, who are both physicians, opened the Hoskinson Health and Wellness Clinic in [[Gillette, Wyoming]]. The clinic focuses on anti-ageing and regenerative medicine. The director of the clinic said it had cost $18 million. Hoskinson said cryptocurrency would be accepted in the future.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-09-29 |title=A new clinic in Gillette is seeking to change the healthcare scene in Campbell County and beyond |url=https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/health/2022-09-29/a-new-clinic-in-gillette-is-seeking-to-change-the-healthcare-scene-in-campbell-county-and-beyond |access-date=2023-11-06 |website=Wyoming Public Media |language=en}}</ref>

Hoskinson was criticised after his private jet was ranked among the top 15 biggest polluters in the US on the Climate Jets website. Commentators contrasted the "green" reputation of Cardano with Hoskinson's personal travel. He defended his jet use, saying the plane had been used for charters for the band [[Metallica]] and film industry workers.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Climate Concern Outs Crypto Founder for Modest Bizjet Usage {{!}} Aero-News Network |url=https://www.aero-news.net/ANNTicker.cfm?do=main.textpost&id=fa32d82a-4670-4293-8385-df2f538bfb34 |access-date=2023-11-06 |website=www.aero-news.net}}</ref>

== Political views == In 2007, Hoskinson, "an anti-war Republican college student with an interest in monetary policy", worked as a fundraiser for the Republican presidential campaign of the Texas congressman [[Ron Paul]]. However, he grew disillusioned with the prospects for anti-government activism. "Libertarianism has always had a [bank] check it can't cash," he said, "Just because we distrust the government doesn't mean we don't need a governing structure." He then discovered bitcoin and began exploring cryptocurrency.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schreckinger |first=Ben |date=4 May 2022 |title=Ron Paul's Revenge |url=https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/04/05/ron-paul-crypto-00022354 |access-date=30 May 2024 |website=Politico}}</ref>

In May 2024, ''Slate'' magazine reported that Hoskinson was one of the technology and finance "disrupters" who were backing [[Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 2024 presidential campaign|Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s 2024 presidential campaign]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Pahwa |first=Nitish |date=2024-05-15 |title=RFK Jr.'s Long-Shot Bid Is Shockingly Alive. Thank His Brain Worm Coalition. |url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2024/05/robert-kennedy-jr-brain-worm-ackman-musk-dorsey.html |access-date=2024-05-30 |work=Slate |language=en-US |issn=1091-2339}}</ref>

Hoskinson announced a new [[political action committee]] called "Wyoming Integrity" in February 2025, followed by a meeting with Wyoming state lawmakers. He intended to challenge the way the state had excluded Cardano from plans for a state [[stablecoin]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Wyoming Could Still Meet Deadline To Issue Digital Stable Token By End Of Year |url=https://cowboystatedaily.com/2023/10/24/wyoming-could-still-meet-deadline-to-issue-digital-stable-token-by-end-of-year/ |access-date=2025-02-06 |website=Cowboy State Daily |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Eagle |first=Noah Zahn Wyoming Tribune |date=2025-02-01 |title=Wyoming crypto billionaire to get involved in politics, announcing new PAC |url=https://www.easternprogress.com/wyoming-crypto-billionaire-to-get-involved-in-politics-announcing-new-pac/article_dccc0f30-fbae-545a-aea2-a49a8d1d704b.html |access-date=2025-02-06 |website=Eastern Progress |language=en}}</ref>

==References ==

== External links == * [https://iog.io/ Input Output Global] * [https://www.cmu.edu/hoskinson/ Hoskinson Center for Formal Mathematics] * [https://iohk.io/en/team/charles-hoskinson IOHK page]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoskinson, Charles}} [[Category:Place of birth missing (living people)]] [[Category:1987 births]] [[Category:People associated with Ethereum]] [[Category:American chief executives]] [[Category:American company founders]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:People associated with Cardano]]