Key Insights:
- Charles Hokinson claims Cardano as an altcoin, remains a top Bitcoin rival.
- ADA outperforms BTC in yearly price growth from the ICO era.
- The Cardano ecosystem has continued to expand via upgrades and collaborations.
Cardano Founder Charles Hoskinson recently shared his perspective on the ongoing rivalry between Bitcoin (BTC) and ADA.
According to Hoskinson, Cardano (ADA) will win at all times. The founder also described ADA as “the best-performing asset of all time” during a recent interview.
Hoskinson consistently promoted ADA as a superior, research-driven blockchain platform, emphasizing its long-term value and outperformance.
Comparing ADA Growth with Bitcoin
In a recent X post, Hoskinson wrote, “We win all time as well.”
The Cardano founder attached a screenshot to his post, highlighting ADA’s growth relative to Bitcoin since its inception.
The screenshot provides an analysis of ADA’s market capitalization as of September 2, 2025. It draws a hypothetical comparison with the value of Bitcoin that ADA originally raised during its 2017 Initial Coin Offering (ICO).
Notably, the market capitalization of ADA was standing at around $29.8 billion at press time, with a circulating supply of 35.73 billion ADA tokens.
Cardano raised 108,000 BTC during its 2017 ICO. If initial ICO participants had kept these BTC coins rather than converting them into ADA. Today, the coins would be worth $11.78 billion (108,000×$109,162.70).
This means Cardano’s current market cap of $29.8 billion is about 2.5 times larger than the value of the Bitcoin they initially raised.
The analysis also accounts for the historical growth of Bitcoin over the last decade and estimates ADA’s ICO value in today’s market.
It suggests it would have been worth approximately $25.9 billion if all ICO-raised BTC had been held until September 2025.
Meanwhile, the market cap of ADA today was around 39% of Bitcoin’s value. This shows that the Cardano blockchain created more value than just holding BTC would have.
The analysis also positions ADA as undervalued, implying untapped potential.
Charles Hoskinson Continues to Celebrate Cardano
Charles recently described ADA as “the best forming asset,” while speaking in an interview. His comments are in response to criticism about ADA being an underperforming asset.
According to Hoskinson, ADA has rallied 140% from a year ago. In contrast, BTC has only surged 80% within the same time frame.
Considering these figures, ADA has outperformed BTC and is currently a standout market performer.
Hoskinson also highlighted ADA’s impressive growth since its launch. According to Hoskinson, the value of Cardano has increased by 4,000%.
On the other hand, Bitcoin has seen only 2,400% over the same period, suggesting a 200% outperformance by ADA.
He went on to highlight ADA’s strong historical performance. Notably, ADA was traded $0.82 today, marking a huge rise from its $0.02 value seen in 2017.
Cardano Ecosystem Expansion
Beyond its rivalry with BTC, ADA has continued to expand its decentralized network.
A Cardano Stake Pool Operator (SPO), known as Dave on X, explained that the blockchain is operating on thousands of nodes worldwide.
According to Dave, Cardano is designed for security, reliability, and sustainability. He added that the blockchain is resistant to censorship or control, operating beyond government borders and regulations.
He further pointed out that Cardano was an inclusive, permissionless platform that fosters business opportunities globally, regardless of geography or financial barriers.
With nearly 8 years of operation, Dave described ADA as a proven example of global decentralization.
Dave’s comments followed a recent upgrade of the Cardano Developer Portal with new tools and EVM migration guides. The new platform included guides, tutorials, and tools designed to make development simpler.
In a parallel development, Hoskinson discussed possible XRP collaboration after meeting with Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse.