Charles Hoskinson believes that crypto has just entered a phase of exponential growth. During a speech at the United Nations, the Cardano founder compared blockchain to the Internet and artif
Charles Hoskinson believes that crypto has just entered a phase of exponential growth. During a speech at the United Nations, the Cardano founder compared blockchain to the Internet and artificial intelligence, two technologies whose adoption accelerated after slower starts. His most concrete example: tokenized stocks, which rose from about 600 million to 3 billion dollars.
Charles Hoskinson starts with a fairly simple idea. Exponential technologies rarely progress steadily. For several years, changes may seem limited. Then infrastructure improvements, cost reductions, and the arrival of new users accelerate everything.
The Internet is his main point of comparison. International communications once heavily depended on distance. The network gradually reduced this constraint until it allowed almost instant exchanges worldwide.
Hoskinson now places blockchain on a similar trajectory. He also associates this evolution with artificial intelligence, a field he already wants to integrate more deeply into the Cardano ecosystem.
AI models are becoming capable of accomplishing more tasks with fewer computing resources. Blockchain, meanwhile, is gradually gaining uses beyond simple cryptocurrency exchanges. Traditional finance is precisely beginning to provide several examples.
Your 1st cryptos with BitgetThis link uses an affiliate program.Hoskinson cites the tokenization of financial assets to illustrate his reasoning. The data presented during his speech shows tokenized stocks rising from about 600 million dollars at the beginning of 2025 to nearly 3 billion. The market has thus multiplied fivefold in less than two years.
Stocks, currencies, real estate, or funds can now be represented on blockchain. Several crypto platforms and financial institutions are also developing infrastructures for their settlement and on-chain transfer.
However, the figure of 3 billion requires clarification. Market size and trading volumes do not measure the same thing.
In early September, tokenized stocks had also approached 3 billion dollars in weekly spot volume. Robinhood Chain, BNB Chain, and Solana were among the most active networks in this segment.
True integration in on-chain finance remained much lower, about 5% according to data reported at that time. The progression is thus rapid. The market is still small compared to traditional stock exchanges.
Hoskinson also uses renewable energy to illustrate mistakes that too-linear projections can cause. In Germany, renewables represented 55.9% of net public electricity production in 2025, a level hard to imagine a few decades earlier.
His reasoning primarily concerns technology adoption. It is not a price forecast for bitcoin, ADA, or the entire crypto market. A technology can progress rapidly without all tokens linked to the sector automatically benefiting from this growth.
Cardano knows this well. Its ecosystem continued developing Leios, AI, and privacy while ADA went through several difficult market periods.
Hoskinson particularly bets on Midnight to expand his ecosystem’s uses. The privacy-focused network aims to combine blockchain, data protection, and applications for businesses. The thesis presented at the United Nations therefore goes far beyond Cardano. Tokenization, AI, blockchain settlement, and new financial products move forward in parallel. For Hoskinson, this precise mix could make crypto change speed.
