The Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has reacted to a disclosure from IOHK CTO detailing the network’s important achievements since 2020.

Notably, Cardano has marked a remarkable journey since 2020, as emphasized by Romain Pellerin, the Chief Technology Officer at Input Output Hong Kong (IOHK).

The Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has reacted to a disclosure from IOHK CTO detailing the network’s important achievements since 2020.

Notably, Cardano has been busy since 2020, as highlighted by Romain Pellerin, the Chief Technology Officer at Input Output Hong Kong (IOHK). Recently, Pellerin listed the blockchain platform’s key milestones over the past five years.

Following this, Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson responded with approval, sharing a moment from Star Trek: The Next Generation that shows his confidence in the platform’s trajectory.

Cardano’s Growth Since 2020

In his disclosure, Pellerin noted the Shelley upgrade in July 2020, which transitioned Cardano to a proof-of-stake network. This enabled users to stake their ADA tokens and participate in securing the network, enhancing decentralization compared to its earlier federated structure.

Later that year, in December, the Allegra upgrade introduced metadata capabilities, allowing users to attach additional information to transactions. This essentially set the stage for more complex applications on the blockchain.

Meanwhile, in February 2021, the Mary update expanded Cardano’s functionality by enabling native token creation and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Unlike Ethereum, which relies on smart contracts for token issuance, Cardano’s approach made the process better, reducing costs and complexity for developers.

Notably, the momentum continued in September 2021 with the Alonzo upgrade, which brought Plutus v1 smart contracts to the platform. This milestone allowed developers to build dApps, as Cardano looked to compete with platforms like Ethereum.

Further, in February 2023, the Valentine upgrade strengthened interoperability by integrating support for Bitcoin’s ECDSA and Schnorr signatures, alongside dynamic peer-to-peer networking.

Fast forward to September 2024, the Chang upgrade marked a pivotal moment by implementing decentralized governance and launching Plutus v3. This version added support for BLS signatures, enabling zero-knowledge proof verification, a critical advancement for privacy-focused applications.

In January 2025, Plomin activated all decentralized governance actions, allowing the community to steer Cardano’s future fully. Just a month later, in February 2025, an on-chain constitution solidified this governance framework, embedding rules and principles directly into the blockchain.

The latest on Pellerin’s list is a groundbreaking announcement for this month, March 2025, as Cardano’s native token, ADA, joined the U.S. Crypto Strategic Reserve. This disclosure, which occurred on Sunday, boosted ADA’s price performance, pushing it above $1.

Cardano Founder Responds

In response to the elaborate list, Charles Hoskinson shared a clip from Star Trek: The Next Generation’s “Encounter at Farpoint” episode, where Dr. McCoy advises a crew member to treat the Enterprise respectfully, promising it will always deliver.

This analogy ties to Pellerin’s list, suggesting that Cardano’s consistent growth comes from careful stewardship and community trust.