Cardano's biggest project, Midnight, was notably absent from the Cardano Foundation's booth at TOKEN2049, despite being the ecosystem's largest project. According to reports from CoinDesk, Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson publicly criticized this omission, calling it the 'Where's Waldo of Cardano' and attributing it to governance politics. Speaking at the Cardano booth on October 7, Hoskinson questioned why Midnight was not included in the Foundation's 108-square-meter exhibition space, jokingly suggesting that Midnight may have been left out because it focuses on privacy. The timing was particularly significant as Midnight announced plans to support Solana wallets just hours before the conference, highlighting the project's growing independence from the Cardano ecosystem.
Hoskinson emphasized the public nature of the booth, stating that 'The booth is a public asset for Cardano. It was funded by the Cardano community'. As reported by CoinDesk, this matters because Cardano's treasury is ultimately funded and governed through ADA holders and their delegates. The Cardano Foundation's decision to exclude Midnight from the booth display has exposed deeper political divisions within the Cardano community, with Hoskinson repeatedly clashing with the foundation over governance and ecosystem direction. This tension resurfaced in June when a crypto fund founder called for Hoskinson's removal, triggering a fierce community debate. Hoskinson later urged the Cardano community to pay close attention to how its treasury funds are being used, especially when voting on funding proposals.
Despite the booth controversy, Midnight is expanding its reach beyond Cardano. According to reports from CoinDesk, at a recent Solana Summit, the team announced that Solana users would eventually be able to make private swaps without installing separate software. Hoskinson publicly welcomed this move in a quote post, acknowledging the irony that a project built inside the Cardano ecosystem is now being welcomed by Solana while its own logo is missing from Cardano's biggest conference booth. The privacy-focused blockchain already trades on Binance as a Cardano native token, adding to the complexity of its cross-chain presence. Meanwhile, Midnight has its own presence at the conference, with Midnight President Fahmi S. discussing Midnight Passport, a collateral warehouse, Night mode and Offer files during Day 1 keynotes.
Hoskinson's comments have sparked mixed reactions from the Cardano community, with some users criticizing him for his past disagreements with the Cardano Foundation. One user, Dudewhyme, shared a meme referencing Hoskinson's earlier criticism of the Foundation. The disagreement centers on the Cardano Foundation's large booth at TOKEN2049, which features more than 30 Cardano projects and builders working in areas such as DeFi, real-world assets, AI, and blockchain tools. The Foundation's booth includes a stage for more than 30 speakers, a podcast studio, an ecosystem display, Foundation representatives, merchandise and free coffee. Hoskinson's criticism raises questions about how Cardano projects should be represented when community money is used to promote the ecosystem, adding to the ongoing tension between IOG, which supports Midnight, and the Cardano Foundation.
