Crypto was a tribe, a long-standing industry marked in the sector. Users and projects often gather behind chains chosen with almost religious enthusiasm. Community passions can promote innovation, but this deep sector often does more harm than good.
In an exclusive interview with the Beincrypto Russia team at Rare Evo 2025, Charles Hoskinson (ADA), founder and CEO of the Input Output (IO) behind Cardano (ADA), warned that continuing tribalism could lead to a fragmented, dysfunctional blockchain ecosystem. He explained how Cardano and Midnight are committed to building a future rooted in privacy, interoperability and inclusive collaboration.
What is blockchain tribalism and why is it bad?
For context, blockchain tribalism refers to individuals or communities of strong loyalty or loyalty, centering on a particular blockchain or cryptocurrency project. Just like social tribalism, it promotes echo chambers, ideological rigidity, and toxic competition.
This sentiment, in particular, continues in the industry today. But when tribalism is not checked, Hoskinson sees a harsh future. It is a fragmented, dysfunctional ecosystem that cannot fulfill its decentralized promises.
“We may face a future in which public trust continues to deteriorate, adoption will stall and meaningful institutional adoption will not be possible. Worse, regulated industries may completely reject blockchain due to lack of interoperability and privacy concerns,” he told Beincrypto.
Hoskinson also criticized the infinite cycle of exaggerated token launches.
“As I said before, it appears that at every crypto event, they are always announcing new tokens that are better than others. This kind of mindset distracts us from building infrastructure that truly transforms life,” he said.
Breaking the chain of tribalism in blockchain
Hoskinson emphasized that in order to truly overcome tribalism, industry must make structural changes and embrace a common sense of purpose. However, there are still challenges.
“The main obstacles are cultural and economic. Crypto-tribalism is comparable to camps, reducing projects and VC-driven fragmentation, where investors’ profits negate user needs, and finally, the tension between privacy and transparency complicates recruitment, particularly in the executive market.
Still, he says the path to a more supportive and inclusive ecosystem requires five important shifts.
Adopt a collaborative economic model to encourage collaboration between developers, validators and communities of different blockchain ecosystems, instead of competition. We employ privacy-enhancing technologies such as zero-knowledge proof to enable secure and compliant data sharing. Implement a multi-resource consensus framework so that diverse networks (POS, POW, etc.) can act as equal peers. Prioritize the privacy-focused interoperability layer to enable secure, seamless cross-chain communications without ideology or technical gatekeeping. Ensure fair and comprehensive token delivery, build trust and adjust incentives across your broad user base.
Hoskinson points out Cardano’s sidechain midnight and is a privacy-first interoperability solution designed to address technical integration and privacy challenges.
He explained that Midnight stands out by blending cross-chain ease of use and privacy features, creating a framework that matches regulatory requirements while meeting the practical needs of developers and institutions.
“Unlike many bridges that rely on wrapped assets and centralized valters, Midnight allows developers to use native tokens to build applications that run on multiple chains. Validators of these ecosystems can participate in the consensus and promote inclusivity,” commented Hoskinson.
He also emphasized that the dual token model (night and dust) ensures user privacy while supporting the long-term viability of the network. Furthermore, Hoskinson stressed that midnight glacial drops, which distributed 100% of the tokens to 37 million wallets, underscored the network’s commitment to prioritizing communities over capital.
“Impacts can be transformative. Midnight allows for the first truly mutually collaborative distributed applications, allowing for the integration of real-world regulated use cases, and unlocking indications of economic value that are currently inaccessible due to privacy and compliance restrictions.
Despite the collaboration’s focus, Hoskinson also made it clear that he is on guard against certain projects and models. This includes the VC First Token model. We see this as often similar to the Ponzi scheme due to its structure.
“These models reward exclusiveness and early insiders at the expense of users and long-term sustainability. I avoid an exclusive ecosystem that doesn’t value open source principles, cross-chain capabilities, or fair talk nemics.
Building Cardano from scratch: What will change?
Meanwhile, Hoskinson said if he launches Cardano today, he would prioritize privacy and interoperability much earlier in the process.
He recalls the lessons he had learned from midnight. According to him, the project expanded its understanding of what is possible in these areas.
Nevertheless, some critics argue that Cardano is developing too slowly. Nevertheless, Hoskinson firmly defended the project’s peer-reviewed, research-driven approach.
“The journey may have taken longer, but the results speak for itself: a platform that doesn’t suffer from transaction speeds, resilient architectures, and security obstacles seen elsewhere. In a space where projects fail each year, they are slow and stable, creating a permanent infrastructure rather than a flashy short-term roll,” he added.
What’s next in the blockchain industry: Charles Hoskinson’s weight
As competition intensifies in the blockchain industry, Hoskinson has identified four key factors for long-term survival.
Interoperability and Privacy: These are important for building safe, scalable, and real applications. Open and fair incentive models: These are necessary to ensure that communities continue to engage over time and promote long-term growth. Real-World Use Cases: Applications in sectors such as healthcare, finance, and supply chain are important to maintain blockchain relevance. Scalable governance models: These must be supported by innovations such as multi-resource consensus.
Looking ahead, executives predict the convergence of traditional and decentralized financials and foresee the rise of fourth generation blockchains that are programmable, private, interoperable and inclusive.
He emphasized that collaboration across the ecosystem is essential for the future of the industry, as there is no single chain that can solve only all problems.
“The future of Cardano is essentially multichine and is designed to provide a more resilient, interconnected Web3 infrastructure alongside other ecosystems. Along this journey, Midnight will be a stepping stone to that future, allowing institutional partners to exist while still open and present.
Finally, Charles Hoskinson envisions the major technologies involved in open blockchain systems as interoperability and privacy challenges are overcome. He anticipates the integration of real-world assets, particularly in areas such as healthcare, finance and identity. This is driven by advances in selective disclosure techniques.
Post Charles Hoskinson to resolve the biggest issue with Crypto: Five bold fixes first appeared in Beincrypto.
