Cardano's Charles Hoskinson mulls partnership with BTC Cash

Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has hinted at teaming up with Bitcoin Cash (BCH).

On May 4, Hoskinson posted a poll on X asking people what they thought about Cardano (ADA) partnering with Bitcoin Cash to boost its performance using technology like proof of useful work (PoUW), non-interactive proofs of proof-of-work (NIPoPoW), and Ergo technology. 

In Hoskinson’s opinion, such upgrades could make BCH “the fastest and most useful” proof of work chain out there.

Hypothetical Poll:

Would you like to see Bitcoin Cash become a Cardano Partnerchain upgraded with Useful Proof of Work Leios, NiPoPoWs, and Ergo tech, thus being the fastest and most useful proof of work chain ever built?

— Charles Hoskinson (@IOHK_Charles) May 4, 2024

At press time, the poll — which still has six days to run — had been voted on more than 11,800 times. Some 66% of the voters want to see the Bitcoin Cash and Cardano partnership become a reality.

A day before putting up the poll, Hoskinson took to X, asking members of the Bitcoin Cash community to clue him in on what was going on on the development side of BCH and what some of the network’s near-term priorities were.

I'm curious about Bitcoin Cash's roadmap. Can anyone from the Bitcoin Cash community point me to what's happening on the Dev side and some of the near-term priorities?

— Charles Hoskinson (@IOHK_Charles) May 3, 2024

Hoskinson’s public interest in BCH comes on the heels of an altercation with MicroStrategy chairman and Bitcoin (BTC) maximalist Michael Saylor. 

The difference in opinion cropped up after Saylor stated that altcoins like Cardano, Solana (SOL), Ripple (XRP), and BNB will be classified as unregistered securities by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the summer. 

Saylor also reportedly claimed that such altcoins will never be accepted by Wall Street in the manner Bitcoin has, following the SEC’s approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs in January.

Hoskinson fired back at Saylor on X, making it clear that Cardano can handle whatever comes its way. With a hint of sarcasm, the Cardano founder suggested Bitcoin maximalists had a tendency to look down on other cryptocurrencies, considering all of them “illegal and a scam.”

Bitcoiners: "Why is Charles attacking Bitcoin? Altcoiners are so Toxic."

Bitcoin Maxi's: "Literally everything but Bitcoin is illegal and a scam" https://t.co/Fd0fYyLWjn

— Charles Hoskinson (@IOHK_Charles) May 3, 2024

Bitcoin Cash came into existence in 2017 following a prolonged and sometimes heated dispute within the Bitcoin community about how to scale the blockchain. 

Bitcoin community members consider the cryptocurrency “digital gold” and emphasize its security and decentralization. They are less worried about the potential high fees and the limitations of using Bitcoin for payments.

On the other hand, supporters of Bitcoin Cash perceive their project primarily as digital cash. They believe BCH can compete effectively in payments without compromising its core properties or principles.