Exclusive Interview: Cardano Founder Discusses His Favorite Cryptocurrency Projects, Major Public Chains All Fall Short!

Foreign media Cointelegraph recently interviewed Charles Hoskinson, the founder of Cardano (ADA). During the interview, Hoskinson shared some of his favorite crypto projects, but among the top ten cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, only Tezos (XTZ) made the list.

Ergo

This is one of the most revolutionary cryptocurrencies in history. There are many crazy ideas, such as non-outsourceable puzzles, the sigma privacy protocol, a compact blockchain, and more. All these crazy things. There is not even proof.

Ergo was launched by Alex Chepurnoy, a favorite tech expert of Hoskinson who has contributed significantly to the development of Cardano. Ergo is a Turing-complete, smart contract-supporting, proof-of-work blockchain platform that incorporates advanced technologies such as zero-knowledge proofs, ring signatures, oracles, and adjustable block sizes.

ZCash

They take the overall discussion of zero-knowledge cryptography to another level. We have learned something from it and made changes at certain levels. They champion privacy and inclusive accountability, both of which are crucial to blockchain.

Zcash is a privacy-focused cryptocurrency that allows for both transparent and shielded transactions. Hoskinson holds ZCash and its zero-knowledge proof-related technology in high regard.

StarkWare

These people are great, incredibly smart. Similarly, they have allowed us to make amazing progress by enhancing scalability.

Hoskinson highly appreciates StarkWare for their contributions to improving Cardano's scalability. The company was co-founded by Eli Ben Sasson, a computer scientist from Zcash, aiming to achieve on-chain scalability using zero-knowledge proofs.

Lightning Labs

I have great respect for Lightning Labs. If not for scalability, but focusing on interoperability between cryptocurrencies, that would be a great solution. They seem willing to communicate, collaborate, and are easy to work with.

The company is building a second-layer solution for the Bitcoin network, aiming to provide users with more efficient ways of sending and receiving payments. Hoskinson noted his support for the development specifications set by Elizabeth Stark, co-founder of the Lightning Network.

Dash

I have great respect for the Dash community. I believe they are one of the earliest projects to prove the utility of cryptocurrency masternodes, and one that highlights the benefits of masternodes. They also sponsor research at Arizona State University.

Dash is another privacy-focused project among Hoskinson's favorites, implementing a two-tier consensus - masternodes on top of a proof-of-work base layer. Hoskinson also appreciates the Dash community.

Tezos

I'm not a big fan of their community because they have been very aggressive and negative towards us, never giving us a chance to breathe when we are frustrated and want to escape. But overall, I do have great respect for the technology and philosophy they have deployed.

Tezos is a proof-of-stake blockchain with on-chain governance. Created to provide the security and code correctness needed for assets and other high-value use cases. Hoskinson still appreciates Tezos, despite its community being very hostile towards Cardano.

Algorand

They are another token with a high level of scientific content, we support each other. Even though we compete academically, we can reference each other's work, learn from each other, and grow together.

Algorand is a proof-of-stake blockchain established by Turing Award winner Silvio Micali. It aims to create a transparent system where all users can succeed through decentralized governance.

Avalanche

I think Avalanche has some advantages, especially in their Internet of Things field; it will be an interesting project with many interesting ideas.

Avalanche, founded by Cornell University computer science professor EminGünSirer, focuses on scalability and operability. Hoskinson holds an optimistic view of Avalanche's token (ATH).

Basic Attention Token

The growth curve and adoption of BATs are incredibly impressive. I think they will become a major player in the market within five to ten years, at least replacing Firefox and potentially gaining a foothold in the browser market, which could translate into billions of dollars in advertising revenue.

The Brave browser rewards users for viewing ads by distributing Basic Attention Tokens. Brave was launched by Brendan Eich, co-founder of JavaScript and Mozilla. Hoskinson believes that the Brave browser could disrupt the current monopolized advertising market platforms.