Flare Network CEO Hugo Philion has criticized Cardano over its decentralized finance performance and market progress. He argued that Cardano failed to convert its early launch into DeFi leadership despite years of development. His comments responded directly to Charles Hoskinson’s recent statements about expanding Cardano into Bitcoin-based DeFi.
Philion addressed the timeline gap between both networks and questioned Cardano’s DeFi output. He stated that Cardano launched in 2017, while Flare entered the market in January 2023. However, he argued that Cardano failed to build a dominant DeFi position during those six years.
Cardano launched in 2017.
Flare launched 6 years after.
Ever since Cardano has been trying and miserably failing to copy our strategy. (Im personally looking forward to them getting into TEEs
)
Cardano has far lower stats across the board in DeFi than Flare despite… https://t.co/FAZNAEnMnI pic.twitter.com/3jsVJvQg5Z
— Hugo Philion (@HugoPhilion) May 5, 2026
He claimed that Cardano attempted to replicate Flare’s DeFi model but did not succeed. Philion wrote that Cardano has been “trying and miserably failing” to copy Flare’s strategy. He referenced data from DeFiLlama to support his position on total value locked figures.
According to the data he cited, Flare holds about $159 million in total value locked. In comparison, Cardano maintains roughly $131 million in TVL. Philion presented these figures as evidence that Flare DeFi has advanced faster despite its later launch.
Philion also outlined Flare’s focus on building a unified DeFi layer. He said the framework supports assets such as FXRP, FBTC, FXLM, real-world assets, and stablecoins. He added that Flare aims to operate as a central hub for cross-chain liquidity and yield generation.
He pointed to the FXRP initiative as proof of progress. Around 154 million $XRP is locked on Flare through this program. Out of that amount, about 140 million FXRP tokens currently operate in DeFi protocols.
Philion’s remarks followed Charles Hoskinson’s public comments about Cardano’s Bitcoin strategy. Hoskinson proposed making potential U.S. Bitcoin reserves programmable through Cardano’s smart contract infrastructure. He also suggested that the system could extend to institutional Bitcoin holdings.
Hoskinson stated that Cardano could support assets linked to BlackRock and major corporations. He promoted a vision of programmable Bitcoin reserves integrated into Cardano’s ecosystem. Philion responded by dismissing Cardano’s prospects in Bitcoin-based DeFi leadership.
Meanwhile, Cardano continues to build its own decentralized finance infrastructure. The network focuses on non-custodial collateral models to protect user control. This approach allows users to access yield opportunities without surrendering asset custody.
Cardano recently launched Cardinal, its first Bitcoin DeFi protocol. The platform enables users to bridge and stake BTC within Cardano’s UTXO-based architecture. Hoskinson also confirmed that $XRP integration remains on Cardano’s roadmap.
He stated that Cardano plans to expand DeFi access to XRP despite its presence on other networks. These developments represent Cardano’s most recent steps in expanding its DeFi capabilities.
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