A debate has erupted online following claims that Cardano founder and Ethereum co-founder Charles Hoskinson may have falsified details of his educational background.
While the issue isn't a huge scandal, it is about conflicting reports about whether Hoskinson dropped out of a Ph.D. focused on number theory. program - as he suggested - or if he embellished the story. Crypto journalist and Unchained Podcast host Laura Shin suggested in her new book and on social media that he never finished a bachelor's degree or enrolled for a Ph.D.
The dispute began on Sunday after a Twitter user stated that he was reading Shin's book "The Cryptopians" to get a summary of the early days of Hoskinson and Cardano as reported in the book.
Hoskinson responded to the post stating:
โGreat work of fiction. Tough market to beat George RR Martin and Tolkien, but we wish him well."
Shin was quick to respond to the Cardano founderas he questioned "speaking of fiction, do you want to address the discrepancies between your claims of dropping out of a Ph.D. program and the schools' claims that you were enrolled as an undergraduate?"
The journalist's book was released on February 22. In it, she claims that she contacted both Denver Metropolitan State University "which she does not have a graduate program in mathematics" and the University of Colorado, where Hoskinson previously studied. According to Shin, both institutions stated that the Cardano founder studied as a university student, but did not obtain a degree either.
โSchools say he didn't graduate with a bachelor's degree. Also, she has said multiple times, including in our interview, that she dropped out of a Ph.D. program.โ
Shin also noted that she gave Hoskinson and her team "ample opportunity" to talk to her and give her perspective, but they all ignored her. Commenting on the thread, BitTorrent founder Bram Choen intervened jokingly that he might as well let everyone know that he also "dropped out on bachelor's degree."
Feel free to let everyone know that I dropped out.
โBram Cohen (@bramcohen) March 8, 2022
The community debated whether Hoskinson's words about not completing a Ph.D. could be technically true, but a bit misleading. However, Shin also pointed to an interview with him in which she explicitly said that she dropped out of a Ph.D. Program.
During the interview, Shin asked Hoskinson if he was pursuing a master's degree or a Ph.D. when he first heard about Bitcoin. The founder stated that:
โYes, I was a graduate student. I was trying to get a Ph.D. and ended up dropping out and never finished."
He didn't say he dropped out of a Ph.D. program. You're putting words in her mouth, clearly. Also, Gates, Zuckerburg, etc. all dropped out of college. We care about technology, not small talk. @laurashin
โ McLovin ADA (@RubbishBullocks) March 6, 2022
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Like the rest of the crypto market, the performance of the Cardanao native asset THERE ARE has seen a strong downward momentum of late. At the time of writing, ADA is down 26.9% in the last 30 days to stand at $0.83. However, over the last 24 hours, the price has risen by 3.5% and many other major assets have seen a significant increase in this time frame.
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