Cardano Foundation Says Goodbye To Its Chairman

Published on 14 November 2018 by Cryptovest Staff

Michael Parsons, Chairman of the Foundation Council, has resigned after the latest turmoil within the Cardano management.

The Cardano Foundation announced a major change in its Council, according to a statement on the company’s official website.

Michael Parsons, the Chairman of the Foundation Council, resigned with the decision taking effect immediately. The news came as no surprise after the recent outbreak of war within the Cardano ecosystem and litany of criticisms against the unpopular Parsons. Community members had been demanding his resignation, and eventually, this pressure resulted in the management reshuffle.

In the interim, another Council Member, Pascal Schmid, will chair the Cardano Foundation. Mr. Schmid is a graduate of the University of St. Gallen and a qualified expert in finance. However, the Foundation emphasized that it was only an interim appointment, and the company is searching for “suitable persons as soon as possible.”

Why it matters

This is rather high-profile news for the crypto industry considering that Cardano consistently ranks in the top ten of the largest cryptocurrency ecosystems by market capitalization. Cardano developers aim to build their enhanced Blockchain 3.0 version, which is designed to address the current issues that the Ethereum and Bitcoin platforms have.

The backstory of the conflict

Cardano used to represent an ecosystem that was run by Cardano Foundation, IOHK, and Emurgo. Some time ago, the heads of the latter two companies, Charles Hoskinson and Ken Kodama, started to express their disappointment and dissatisfaction with Parsons’ leadership.

In mid-October, Hoskinson and Kodama published an open letter accusing the Cardano Foundation of poor performance, lack of activity and progress, and low ability to promote the Cardano ecosystem. They also personally accused Parsons of neglecting his duties and monopolizing the power in the Foundation where he encouraged cronyism.

After the chairs of IOHK and Emurgo announced their decision to part ways with the Foundation, community members started a petition against Parsons demanding to bring him to justice and hoping for a staff reshuffle. Eventually, the recent Foundation breakup with Emurgo and IOHK and the increasing pressure on Parsons made him step down.

The community cheered the news in social media. Charles Hoskinson has already commented on Parsons‘ resignation in a short YouTube video “The Babylonian Captivity of Cardano Has Ended.”

He described the news as a good opportunity for the Foundation “to reinvent itself” and also expressed optimism about the future of the Cardano ecosystem.