Hoskinson speaks about $100M ADA sale to boost USDM

Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has suggested converting $100 million in ADA from the protocol’s treasury into a Cardano-native stablecoin, USDM. He argued that the initiative could bring in $5 million to $10 million in annual returns to Cardano.

Hoskinson hopes the idea will supercharge decentralized finance and boost liquidity on the network. He also said the expected annual returns could be used to strengthen the treasury and support future growth.

Hoskinson plans to advance Cardano’s liquidity infrastructure

BREAKING NEWS:

CARDANO TO CONVERT $100M IN ADA TO USDM 🙀🙀🙀@IOHK_Charles says "There's 1.7B ADA in the treasury. We could convert $100M of it into $USDM to boost trading, market making, and TVL on Cardano.

Earn 5–10% returns, use it to buy ADA every year, and donate it… pic.twitter.com/nuge1UB9Vz

— Mintern (@MinswapIntern) June 11, 2025

Hoskinson previously acknowledged that major tech companies, including Amazon, Apple, Google, Microsoft, Meta, Nvidia, and Tesla, are increasingly interested in digital currencies. He revealed that the tech firms are exploring integrating crypto wallets and stablecoins into their platforms, which he envisions could connect with 3 billion users.

The Cardano treasury currently holds roughly 1.7 billion ADA, worth over $650 million at publication. During a recent ask-me-anything session, Hoskinson argued that the stockpile of funds is sitting idle while the ecosystem misses out on big opportunities.

“We could convert a hundred million ADA into USDM, put financial infrastructure behind it, and start building up trading, market-making, and total value locked in the Cardano ecosystem.”

~ Charles Hoskinson, Co-founder of Cardano

The American entrepreneur’s strategy reflects a self-reinforcing loop, where the company earns passive income by providing liquidity, then uses that income to buy back ADA and refill the treasury. Hoskinson estimates the idea could garner a 5 to 10% annual yield, all while strengthening stablecoin liquidity and encouraging DeFi activity.

The Cardano stablecoin, USDM, issued by Mehen, is backed 1:1 with U.S. dollars and fully on-chain. Hoskinson believes anchoring $100 million worth of ADA into the stablecoin could ignite Cardano’s liquidity, as seen in ecosystems like Ethereum or Solana.

Similar strategies are gaining traction across the crypto industry, including Avalanche’s recent allocation of $50 million to bring more tokenized assets on-chain, betting that increased liquidity drives adoption. Hoskinson believes Cardano could do the same – if the community steps up.

Despite suggesting his promises, Cardano’s co-founder also expressed clear distraught over what he sees as community inaction. Hoskinson pointed to Intersect, a governance entity designed to help manage treasury funds and proposals, as an underused tool. He argued that Intersect was set up to give Cardano’s treasury the freedom to do exactly what he suggested.

Hoskinson also noted missed chances, such as failing to bring Circle’s USDC stablecoin to Cardano. He believes the partnership could have positioned Cardano ahead of the curve in the stablecoin space. 

Cardano’s co-founder sees potential in including venture capital from companies like a16z or Pantera. Hoskinson argued that investors like venture capital firms might fund liquidity initiatives, returning profits to the treasury and creating a growth cycle.

Cardano aims to launch private stablecoin

Hoskinson spoke on eToro’s ‘Conversation with Leaders’ podcast on May 9 and proposed privacy-preserving stablecoins for Cardano. He revealed that his team wants Cardano to be the first blockchain with a private stablecoin. 

Privacy stablecoins have been viewed as a threat, with privacy-enabling digital assets like Monero and Zcash getting delisted and banned from exchanges due to concerns over their use by criminals. The European Union also said it will ban exchanges from dealing with private cryptocurrencies starting in July 2027.

Hoskinson argued there’s a way to offer privacy without sacrificing regulatory compliance. Cardano’s founder argued that the stablecoin could have selective disclosure to provide the anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism funding provisions that regulators require. 

Hoskinson also revealed on May 10 that Cardano will transform as it adopts a more open and agile development model. He argued that the new approach would allow external contributors to participate more actively in building the network. The blockchain’s founder also said it will introduce flexible workflows to speed up innovation while preserving its security principles.

Cardano’s founder acknowledged that the company’s early design favored caution over speed. Hoskinson also argued that the same approach slowed development and made it harder for Cardano to grow and thrive.

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