Charles Hoskinson says he lost over 3 billion in crypto but did not sell

Speaking during a livestream from Tokyo, Hoskinson described the figure as an unrealized loss and argued that he remains committed to building despite the downturn. He told viewers that it would have been easy to cash out and walk away, but framed his motivation as focused on the work rather than near-term gains.

His comments came as the broader crypto market slid. The Block’s price data showed the market down 8.7% over the past day, with bitcoin and ether posting double-digit declines. Cardano’s ADA fell more than 11% to about $0.25, leaving the token roughly 92% below its September 2021 all-time high of $3.09.

Hoskinson also warned that conditions could deteriorate further and urged developers and investors to keep going through what he described as a difficult phase. He framed the period as a test of persistence for teams building products and infrastructure.

In January 2026, Hoskinson told Scott Melker on The Wolf of All Streets podcast that he had lost roughly $2.5 billion in paper value over the prior four years, which he linked to regulatory uncertainty and political pressure that pushed retail participants out of the market. In the Tokyo stream, he pointed to Cardano’s roadmap as a reason to stay focused, citing work on the Hydra layer 2 scaling system, planned consensus upgrades under Leios, and the Midnight data-protection sidechain.

As GNcrypto wrote on 13 January 2026, Hoskinson criticized the Trump administration’s crypto policy as extractive and argued that the launch of Trump-linked memecoins undermined investor trust and derailed momentum for bipartisan bills such as the GENIUS Act and the Clarity Act. He also warned that naming ADA, XRP and Solana as part of a presidential crypto reserve without consultation could create legal and political risks if U.S. policy shifts.