Cardano’s Charles Hoskinson Says Institutions Caused the Latest Crypto Meltdown

• Cardano’s Hoskinson accuses institutions of pump-and-dump schemes causing crypto crash
• Cardano fell to $0.3911 from $0.6092, Bitcoin dropped from $126K to $80.6K levels
• Founder says firms extracted tens of billions through aggressive speculation cycles

Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson attributed the recent cryptocurrency market crash to large institutional players during a November 24 livestream. He accused these entities of orchestrating pump-and-dump operations that pulled billions from the market.

Major cryptocurrencies posted steep declines throughout November. Cardano opened the month at $0.6092 but dropped to a multi-month low of $0.3911 last week. Bitcoin reached $126,000 one month ago before falling to $80,600 during the same period.

“The reason why the price is low, it’s because institutions got what they wanted. They pumped & dumped the dats…”

“Pumped it up, shorted it down, made both sides of the trade…” -Charles Hoskinson

Concerning Cardano ADA & Crypto in general… pic.twitter.com/dRHGYm9xTJ

— 𝙈𝙚𝙩𝙖𝙈𝙖𝙣 𝙓 ™ (@MetaMan) November 24, 2025

Hoskinson Claims Institutions Profited From Both Sides

Hoskinson stated that large institutions drove prices higher before shorting the market during the decline. He specifically mentioned firms like Citadel as examples of players who “got what they wanted” by profiting from both ends of the trade.

The Cardano founder argued that market makers faced pressure while retail investors absorbed losses. He stated that a combination of institutional dominance and widespread leverage left the market exposed when the downturn began.

Hoskinson described this behavior as standard practice in the crypto market, where institutions extract profits while retail participants suffer heavy losses. He emphasized that many investors failed to learn lessons from the 2021 bull run.

The 2021 cycle featured what Hoskinson called “irrational exuberance,” with speculative NFTs selling for millions and valuations across the sector becoming disconnected from fundamentals. This period ended with high-profile collapses including FTX and LUNA.

These failures wiped out retail investors and damaged public trust in the cryptocurrency ecosystem. Hoskinson suggested that the current market structure continues to favor institutional players over individual participants.

The Cardano founder’s comments come as the crypto market struggles to recover from recent losses. Bitcoin currently trades well below its recent peak, while altcoins including Cardano have posted even steeper percentage declines.

Hoskinson argued that the pattern of institutional manipulation prevents sustainable market growth and leaves retail investors vulnerable to repeated cycles of boom and bust.