Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko has openly criticized Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson’s proposal to convert $100 million of ADA treasury funds into Bitcoin and stablecoins. Yakovenko called the idea "so dumb," arguing that altcoin projects should not hold Bitcoin on behalf of their communities. Instead, he recommends maintaining treasury funds in short-term U.S. Treasury bills to ensure runway and discourage protocol-level exposure to Bitcoin.
Hoskinson suggested this treasury move to enhance Cardano’s DeFi ecosystem, increase stablecoin liquidity, and generate yield that could be reinvested to strengthen ADA and the protocol over time. He emphasized that the market could absorb converting 5-10% of the treasury without crashing ADA’s price. The proposal aims to evolve Cardano’s treasury into a "billion-dollar-plus" pool similar to sovereign wealth funds.
The plan sparked mixed reactions within the crypto community. Some perceive it as a strategic hedge to stabilize and grow Cardano’s ecosystem, including interoperability with Bitcoin in DeFi, while others view it as a lack of confidence in ADA. Polkadot is reportedly considering a similar treasury diversification strategy by converting a portion of DOT into Bitcoin.
Yakovenko’s critique reflects a broader skepticism regarding projects managing Bitcoin on behalf of users, suggesting individual holders should govern their own Bitcoin exposure. Meanwhile, Cardano’s network remains robust, evidenced by over 1.3 million staking addresses, highlighting high community engagement. The debate highlights ongoing discussions about treasury management strategies among leading blockchains in a maturing DeFi ecosystem.