Cardano’s ADA Outperforms Crypto Majors After Charles Hoskinson Steps Back From X, Slams Trump Coin

• Charles Hoskinson said his X account will enter “silent mode” in 2026 and be managed by curators and AI.
• The Cardano founder criticized politically themed meme tokens, saying ‘Trump Coin’ “should’ve never happened.”
• He said he’s also working on a renewed five-year strategy for Midnight that will center on privacy, scale, and long-term adoption.

Cardano (ADA) outperformed Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and other major tokens on Thursday night after founder Charles Hoskinson announced that he was putting his presence on X on pause to focus more on the strategic vision for Cardano and Midnight moving into 2026.

Hoskinson made clear he is not stepping away from crypto or Cardano in a live stream on YouTube, but said his role on Twitter and approach to social media are changing following what he described as the “most difficult year of his life.”

Retail Reaction

ADA’s price rose 9% in the last 24 hours to $0.3621. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around the token rose to ‘bullish’ from ‘neutral’ territory over the past day, accompanied by chatter at ‘normal’ levels. Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s price gained 1.5% in the last 24 hours, and Ethereum’s price rose 1.6%. 

“I’m not going anywhere, but the approach has to change.”

Charles Hoskinson, Founder, Cardano

Despite Hoskinson’s assurances some users on Stocktwits still believe that the move is not bullish for Cardano. 

Charles Hoskinson Steps Back From X

The retail concern stemmed from Hoskinson’s decision to disengage from X, where he has been one of the most visible key opinion leaders in crypto. “I’ve outgrown X,” he said, calling it his “farewell to that platform.”

Hoskinson said the account will be handed over to curators and AI systems and placed into “silent mode” for several weeks or months while new infrastructure is built. He added that future communication will focus on long-form writing, AMAs, live streams, and potentially new platforms.

Hoskinson stated he was leaving because of growing hostility and personalization in how the public interacted or judged a crypto project. He said that projects were increasingly being judged by who builds them rather than what they do.

TRUMP Coin ‘Should’ve Never Happened’

Hoskinson also took aim at politically themed meme tokens, singling out Official Trump (TRUMP). “[Trump Coin] should’ve never happened,” he said, adding that many other industry leaders also privately agreed but stayed silent due to fear of backlash.

He said the issue indicated a broader integrity problem in crypto, where public figures avoid speaking out even when they believe something is wrong, for the sake of their own projects or political alignment. 

TRUMP’s price gained 3.2% in the last 24 hours to $4.86 but the cryptocurrency remains 93% below its record high of $73.43 seen nearly a year ago. Retail sentiment around the meme token on Stocktwits trended in ‘bullish’ territory over the past day with chatter at ‘normal’ levels.

Deep Focus On Cardano, Midnight

Going into 2026, Hoskinson said he is entering a period of “deep focus,” particularly around Midnight, Cardano’s privacy-focused ecosystem. He said he is actively working on specifications, privacy tooling, and long-term architecture, with a five-year strategy aimed at scaling to massive user adoption. “How can I write a strategy now that will have a billion users and a trillion dollars in transactions on the platform by 2030,” he said.

He also said 2025 took a physical and mental toll, citing more than 260 days of travel and chronic sleep deprivation. Going forward, he plans to travel less, spend more time at his ranch, and refocus on health, research, and product development.

Read also: Bitcoin Starts The Year Flat While Cardano, Dogecoin Rally Hard

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.

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