Hoskinson: 1,096 BTC paid for Cardano’s 2016 audit

Charles Hoskinson, co-founder of Cardano and chief executive of Input Output, posted that 1,096 BTC was used to cover audit costs tied to the project’s 2016–2017 genesis crowdsale. The amount is worth about $70 million at current bitcoin prices.

Hoskinson wrote that the bitcoins paid for a multi-round audit of the crowdsale and for compensation to reviewers, adding, “1,096 BTC was used for audit costs in 2016/2017.” At 2016 valuations, the sum would have been roughly $454,000.

The Cardano genesis crowdsale ran from October 2015 through January 2017 and raised about 108,844.5 BTC in total. Most of those funds were allocated to the Swiss Cardano Foundation, while roughly 1,090 to 1,096 BTC were held by an Isle of Man entity that provided early legal and operational support.

The Isle of Man entity was dissolved in December 2025. The dissolution has led some investors to press for records showing how the smaller tranche of early funds was handled and approved.

Investor Thomas Braziel, who works on distressed crypto bankruptcy claims, has requested invoices, approvals and payment records tied to the custody and control of the Isle of Man funds. Braziel has argued that a treasury of that size requires a documented paper trail.

Observers note the audit payment is small relative to the total BTC raised but large in nominal terms at today’s prices. A multi-round, multi-jurisdiction audit of an international fundraise could account for significant costs at the time they were incurred.

The dispute intensified as ADA, Cardano’s native token, fell more than 25% in a single week and posted monthly losses near 30%. The price decline drove renewed calls from some investors for clearer documentation of early project spending.

Input Output has not publicly released additional invoices or payment records connected to the Isle of Man entity. Hoskinson characterized his post as a good-faith effort to answer questions about the missing bitcoins, while Braziel and other investors say they will continue to seek documentary proof.