Cardano's Charles Hoskinson Denies Rumors of Collaboration with Ripple, Clears Confusion About Ethereum's Buterin

Charles Hoskinson, the founder of Cardano, has utilized Twitter to clarify misconceptions and deny any claims of collaboration with Ripple. He highlighted the persistent confusion that links him to Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum, leading to widespread misunderstanding within the cryptocurrency industry.

Hoskinson and the Ripple Rumor

In the realm of crypto enthusiasts, there has been a stubborn rumor that Hoskinson once interned for Ripple. In a bid to set the record straight, Hoskinson recently took to Twitter to dispel these rumors. He strongly stated that he has never worked for Ripple in any capacity, expressing bewilderment as to why such rumors persist.

The Vitalik Buterin Confusion

Hoskinson further clarified that people might be confusing him with Buterin, who did intern at a California-based technology startup. Unlike Buterin, Hoskinson emphasized that he has no connection whatsoever with Ripple.

Buterin’s Connection with Ripple

In a surprising revelation back in 2019, Buterin admitted that he had applied for an internship position at Ripple in 2013. Seeing Ripple as a stepping stone to gain expertise in the field of cryptocurrency, Buterin’s plans were thwarted due to visa complications. Unable to join Ripple, Buterin went on to co-found Ethereum, which has now solidified its place as the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization.

The Blockchain Dispute

This misunderstanding even trickled into a discussion about the first blockchain to offer functionalities such as tokenized assets, decentralized exchanges, smart contracts, and stablecoins. Former Ripple executive Matt Hamilton declared that Ripple was the pioneer in these functionalities, countering this by sharing the anecdote of Buterin’s application to intern at Ripple.

Despite Hamilton’s claim, cryptocurrency analytics company Token Paddock stood its ground, asserting that Ethereum was the first blockchain to offer decentralized functionalities. This debate saw Hamilton further defending Ripple, citing that the XRP Ledger (XRPL) was established before Ethereum and sharing the anecdote of Buterin’s stay at Ripple CTO David Schwartz’s house during his internship application period.