The $700 Million ADA Mystery: Did Cardano Quietly Seize ICO Funds?

Yesterday's thread by @masato_alexander in X was increasing serious questions about one of the unnoticed and controversial events in Cardano's history. The thread says that 318 million adaworth around $ 700 million in timewas silently transferred from dormant ICO wallets back to network reserves; without clear permission from the original ones.

It all started with a function buried deeply in Cardano's Codebase: returnRedeemAddrsToReserves. The purpose of this function is to scan the UTXO (UNSPENT TRANSAKMENT OUTPUT) set and filter the two groups: those linked to ICO participants (“Redeemer”) and all other purses (“non redeemers”).

When identified, balances from the Redeemer's wallets were added to Cardano's reserves. Then, a new UTXO set was created – this time excluding the original ICO addresses.

In other words, the funds owned by the first buyers who do not claim their tokens are effectively the network's reclaiming. These coins are no longer under the control of their original ones.

The main bit is in the ReturnReMaddRateServes function:

-Filter utxos to 'Redeemer' (ICO) and 'non-Redemer'
– Add 'Redeemer' (ICO) UTXOS balances to reserves
-The new set of UTXO is set to contain 'non-Redemer' Utxos only

POOF, ICO funds have disappeared from their original ones! pic.twitter.com/man9l0xxdv

– MASATO_ALEXANDER (@masatoolexander) May 7, 2025

The thread continues to explain that this change is silently activated during the later time. As @Masato_Alexander pointed out, it may seem like a regular state update to most users, but a key difference is that a operating is called to redirect the road -a million to ADA back to Cardano reserves.

But it didn't stop there.

The “miracle” removal

Step Two in the so -called reality fund involves a a Mir (move rewards immediately) Transaction. Usually, MIRs are used to distribute rewards to stakers or funds of treasury initiatives. In this case, however, a certain Mir transaction was used in Move full 318m Ada out of the reserve. The transaction is public and can be seen Here at Cardanoscan.

So where did the money go?

According to Charles Hoskinson, the founder of Cardano, there are two answers:

1. The “Most of the majority” The funds will eventually return to their eligible ICO buyers.
2. The outstanding balance has been used to help fund IntersectmboA Cardano management organization.

@masato_alexander is pushing back to both points.

First, he said the IOG team was assigned to track ICO buyers (Many of them have not moved their funds to four years) have limited success. There was also no Detailed public accounting Showing where those funds end. Without proven data, it is difficult to accept that “most” is restored.

Second, he challenged the funding to be intersected. According to @JbriggslondonInterim Executive Director of Intersect, the organization is the seed of the surroundings $ 7 million USDA big shout out of $ 700 million allegedly sitting in reserves. Intersect is also funded by Emurgo and IogThis means that the actual contribution of the IOG may be less than $ 7m.

So where did the rest go?

The thread suggests some of the ADA is even StakedEarn more 25 million ada in rewardsthat remains uncountable.

A question of management

Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of the thread is its ethical argument. If these funds are temporarily held, why not have full transparency? There is no on-chain trail that shows how or when the ADA was restored to the original buyers, or how much went to intersect. There is no audience. No receipts. Just silence.

It also raised a broader management issue. Cardano often promotes itself as a DecentralizedCommunity-first blockchain with strong management systems. But in this case, the decision to reinstate and move these funds has been reported unilaterally by Charles Hoskinson and others who use Genesis Keyswith no vote or community consultation. That is a sharp contradiction over the principles that Cardano claims to stand.

Also Read: Cardano price prediction if ADA corresponds to 2021 Bull Run Performance

The origin of the ada sale

The story is back. ICO tokens were sold by Achieve CorpA creature reportedly created before Emurgo to limit legal responsibility. Many of these tokens have been sold to senior citizens in Japan, some of which say they are misguided or damaged.

So, if:

Most funds are not successful back to the original ICO holders …

Only a small portion went to the intersect … which most of the ₳ 318 million actually went after being transferred from the reserves?

Separately, the funds are stuck, earning 25m additional ₳!

– MASATO_ALEXANDER (@masatoolexander) May 7, 2025

Charles claimed that the Law of limits In these sales it expires after seven years, indicating that the IOG has no legal obligation to monitor original buyers or restore funds. But as the @Masato_alexander pointed out, even if legal defensive, ethos did not expect it from a blockchain built into transparency and trust.

The $ 700m question remains

At the end of the thread, @masato_alexander disposes of a challenge: If Charles wants to defend the move, he must release:

1. The original ICO sales contracts stating that the unlucky ADA may be able to reclaim.
2. A whole, public path where 318 million went, and how much (if any) went to the intersect.

Until then, it remains one of the most seriously unresolved controversies in Cardano's history – and one of at least discussed events involving enormous amounts of money In all crypto.

As the thread puts it:

“Hope you enjoy exploring one of the greatest unknown heists in crypto history. Bravo to Charles in pulling it.”

Denial:
The content of this article is based on a public thread of X (former Twitter) user @masato_alexander. The claims, interpretations, and conclusions presented in that thread do not come from us and are strictly mentioned here for the purposes of information and discussion. The CaptaLetinalTcoin team does not confirm the accuracy, completeness, or credibility of the allegations made. Readers are encouraged to conduct their own research and consider many resources before drawing any conclusions.

Follow us at X (twitter), CoinMarketCap and Binance Square For more sunny crypto updates.
Read our recent updates to the crypto market, news, and technical analysis here.

We recommend ethoro

Don't invest unless you are willing to lose all the money you invested. This is a high risk investment and you should not expect to be protected if something is wrong. Get 2 mins to find out more

Actively featured user and social communities such as news feeds, chats for specific coins available for trading.
Wide range of properties: cryptocurrencies next to other investment products such as stocks and ETFs.
Copy Copy: Allows users to copy the trading of top traders, for free.
User-friendly: ETORO-based web and mobile app platform is easy to use and easy to navigate.