Cardano’s Charles Hoskinson Snubbed by White House Crypto Summit, but Claims He’s Still Pulling Strings

Key Takeaways

• Charles Hoskinson was notably absent from the White House crypto summit invite list.
• The Cardano founder downplayed the exclusion.
• The snub surprised many, given Cardano’s recent inclusion in the proposed U.S. crypto reserve.

As anticipation builds around the White House’s first crypto summit, one notable absence has caught the industry’s attention—Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson.

The invite list includes several high-profile figures in the crypto space, such as Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, and Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino.

However, Hoskinson did not make the cut despite his active engagement with policymakers and Cardano’s recent addition to a proposed U.S. crypto reserve.

Snub Raises Eyebrows Amid Hoskinson’s Ties to Trump Circle

According to sources familiar with the matter—and later confirmed by Hoskinson himself—his name is missing from the official invite list.

The omission comes as a surprise, especially given his lobbying efforts following Donald Trump’s inauguration as the 47th U.S. president.

Reports also suggest that neither Hoskinson nor any Cardano representatives were included in the summit.

Hoskinson had previously hinted at high-level meetings in Washington and Florida.

In a Feb. 10 post on X, he mentioned a “VIP dinner” initially scheduled for Feb. 22 but later moved to March 1, coinciding with the MAGA Inc. dinner.

Then, on Feb. 27, he noted he would “miss ETH Denver” to attend a “thing” in Florida—fueling speculation about his involvement in Trump’s crypto policy discussions.

However, it was later revealed that he was not on the MAGA dinner invite list either.

Hoskinson Downplays Crypto Summit’s Significance

On Wednesday, Hoskinson addressed the controversy, dismissing the summit as overhyped and suggesting it would have little impact on actual crypto policy.

He claimed he had been in contact with the White House and was told an official invite list would be released on Monday.

However, he never received an invitation and concluded he had been left out.

“Nobody knew anything about the list, and we were told that there’d be a list coming out on Monday. We did not get an invitation on Monday, we did not get an invitation on Tuesday, we did not get an invitation today on Wednesday, so I’m operating under the assumption I have not been invited,” Hoskinson said.

Hoskinson also downplayed the significance of the meeting, arguing that real policy decisions would be made at the legislative level, not in a roundtable discussion at the White House.

“I don’t imagine much policy work will be done. The vast majority of the action will be done at the legislative branch level—whether it’s the stablecoin bill, the market structure bill, or dozens of other bills that have to be passed or authorizations given to the bureaucracy to standardize things,” the Cardano founder shared.

While Hoskinson’s absence has sparked debate, the Cardano founder appears unbothered—suggesting that, at least in his view, the real crypto battles will be fought elsewhere.