Hoskinson Slams Ethereum, Champions Midnight Privacy

Charles Hoskinson, the founder of Cardano, has voiced strong criticism against Ethereum's vision of a "world computer," asserting that personal computing should be centered on user privacy and control.

Hoskinson advocates for Midnight, a privacy network built in parallel with Cardano, as a better alternative. He specifically pointed to the inherent lack of privacy on public blockchains, questioning the desirability of permanent public records for personal transactions and communications, especially with the rise of AI agents requiring personal data.

He detailed Midnight's privacy-enhancing technologies, which include zero-knowledge proofs for verifying outcomes without revealing data, multi-party computation for collaborative data analysis without exposing inputs, and trusted execution environments for secure code execution. Hoskinson described this approach with the phrase "What goes in, no one else can see."

Midnight City, a forthcoming simulated environment for AI agents to interact, trade, and test strategies, is anticipated to launch within the next few months. This platform will enable users to host their own AI agents with unique wallets and identities, facilitating participation in a decentralized marketplace that aims to connect with other blockchain networks.

Hoskinson also issued a warning regarding the cryptocurrency industry's direction, cautioning against a potential return of control to Wall Street. He urged developers to showcase a "crypto-native civilization" and downplayed inter-chain rivalries, emphasizing a unified user experience regardless of the underlying network.

Despite these developments, the price performance of related tokens has been challenging. Over the past week, Midnight (NIGHT) saw a 19.3% decrease, Cardano (ADA) dropped by 13.1%, and Ethereum (ETH) fell by 6.7%. Retail sentiment for NIGHT and ADA was bearish on Stocktwits, while ETH sentiment was extremely bearish.