Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson publicly demanded an apology from prominent community influencer Dave, known as ItsDave_ADA on X, on April 1, 2026. The demand came after Dave posted a sharp critique of the Midnight Network's bridge design and its relationship with the Cardano blockchain.
Dave expressed strong disapproval, stating on X that he was "starting to really hate Midnight and the way they are approaching things" and announced his intention to investigate the project further. His primary technical concern centered on the asymmetric bridge design. At launch, only a one-way trustless bridge from Cardano into Midnight exists. The reverse path from Midnight back to Cardano is not trustless and can reportedly be delayed, censored, or have fees forced on users.
Hoskinson responded the same day via his X account, IOHK_Charles. He described Midnight as "the largest project on Cardano, which will add billions of dollars in value to Cardano" and warned that Dave's attitude, if allowed to continue, would destroy the ecosystem. He drew a direct comparison to a past community figure referred to as 'Whale' and explicitly demanded a public apology.
Dave pushed back, expressing confusion over what he should apologize for. He challenged Hoskinson to clarify precisely how billions of dollars would flow into Cardano through Midnight, arguing that the bridge design actually pulls value from Cardano into Midnight instead. He clarified that his concern was not anti-Midnight but pro-Cardano, rooted in the network's decentralized principles.
The Cardano community reaction was sharply divided. Some, like the account CSWAP_Destroy, defended Hoskinson, arguing the relationship is meant to be symbiotic and warning against driving out key voices. Others, including user _wdm33, defended Dave's right to question everything, stating that is the point of decentralized systems. User peaceKaur called for Hoskinson to directly address how Midnight's success would increase ADA's value, highlighting the core economic question underlying the dispute.
The Midnight Network launched its mainnet in late March 2026, with backers including Google Cloud, Worldpay, and MoneyGram among its first validators. Hoskinson has personally invested approximately $200 million into the project. While the criticized bridge design is not permanent, no firm timeline for implementing a bidirectional trustless path has been publicly confirmed. As of the reports, no apology had been issued.
