Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson wants to become a major power broker in Wyoming politics after feeling wronged by the system.
Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has never been one to let things slide. Over the past two months, the crypto founder has called out the blockchain selection process for the state of Wyoming’s Stable Token (WST) project, arguing that it was unfair and biased after his project was snubbed.
Now, the crypto billionaire looks set to put his money where his mouth is.
If You Can’t Beat the System, Influence It?
Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson wants to become a major power broker in Wyoming politics after feeling wronged by the system.
In statements to a local news outlet, Hoskinson asserted that he intends to launch a Political Action Committee (PAC) in the state this year.
No surprise, the primary purpose of the PAC will be to influence bidding policies in the state. Specifically, he asserts that he wants to support candidates who can bring more transparency to the process.
Hoskinson shares report of his Wyoming PAC plans Source X
Indeed, Hoskinson alludes to the WST Committee’s decision to take bids from only pre-qualified vendors, which included Avalanche, Ethereum, Solana, Stellar, and Sui, but excluded Cardano as a catalyst for the move.
“That is not procurement, that is a no bid contract built to benefit a small group of people,” he asserted.
A Big Conspiracy?
In Hoskinson’s telling, the exclusion of Cardano from the process was part of a big conspiracy between former employees of leading Ethereum developer ConsenSys, stablecoin issuer Circle, and leading asset manager BlackRock to tip things in favor of Ethereum and incumbent stablecoin issuers.
The Cardano founder specifically points fingers at Anthony Apollo, the executive director of the WST Commission, as the driver of this effort. Apollo’s background includes several years leading several departments at ConsenSys.
While Apollo asserts that Cardano passed four of five criteria for the bid but did not make the cut because it failed the asset freeze and seize test, Hoskinson faults the commission for not making these criteria public in the first place and not giving projects a chance to display their capabilities.
Hoskinson asserts that a lack of transparency in these processes could allow big firms to continually take advantage of the state.
The Cardano founder meanwhile believes that the WST project in its current form is doomed to fail due to its lack of transparency and its plans to use a meager $5.8 million budget to compete with private firms making billions annually. He asserted that the best course of action would be to go back to the drawing board, of course, this time with a more transparent procurement process.
A Successful Playbook?
The Cardano founder’s planned Wyoming effort borrows a page from the crypto industry’s successful multimillion-dollar PAC strategy last year that saw the election of several pro-crypto candidates who are currently driving a wave of pro-crypto policy.
Beyond the perceived WST project slight, Hoskinson has a significant stake in Wyoming. For one, he has family in the state. At the same time, he also owns a ranch and a health clinic in the state.
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