Cardano Founder ‘Doge’ Tweet Causes a Stir – Here’s What It Means

The Cardano founder causes a stir by appearing to promote Dogecoin.

Cardano founder and Input Output Chief Executive Officer Charles Hoskinson has caused quite a stir on Twitter today by appearing to promote DOGE.

“Doge voting 4ever,” the Cardano founder wrote with love emojis.

Doge voting #4ever♡♡♡

— Charles Hoskinson (@IOHK_Charles) February 28, 2023

Unsurprisingly, Hoskinson’s tweet has taken many members of the Cardano community by surprise. This is because the Input Output chief has a rocky history with the doggy-themed meme coin, once asserting that DOGE was a mockery of his life’s work. After all, the DOGE creators intended to make fun of Bitcoin and its cult following.

Nonetheless, it is more likely that Hoskinson is referring to the Venetian electoral process during the Renaissance designed to discourage corruption and any other governmental vice. The people of Venice elected the Doge, referring to the republic’s leader, through this highly complex system. 

Per the records, the Venetian Great Council would randomly select 30 members by casting lots; these 30 would randomly select nine others, and these nine would choose 40; from the 40, the council would randomly select 12, the 12 would choose 25, and from the 25, the council would randomly select nine. The nine would elect 45, the 45 would be randomly reduced to 11, and the 11 would finally choose 41 who would vote for the Doge.

Meanwhile, being the Doge did not leave one with unlimited power. The republic placed several restrictions on the Doge, with the Great Council and Judiciary checking his power. Notably, the office of the Doge by this process was not hereditary, and the Venetians did their best to dispel any such fantasies by destroying any symbols and seals of a Doge following his death.

Hoskinson’s “Doge voting” comments come as the Cardano network prepares to enter the final phase of its roadmap dubbed the Age of Voltaire. It will usher the network into a new era of decentralized governance, which the Cardano founder asserts would school the rest of the industry. 

Voltaire would combine a voting and treasury system to make the network self-sustaining, allowing ADA holders to influence the direction of the network. Consequently, ADA holders could propose network improvements and upgrades with the treasury on hand to fund these changes if approved through voting.

The network has already taken the first steps with Project Catalyst. The experimental, decentralized governance process proposes a “liquid democracy” model that combines the benefits of direct and representative democracy, allowing for expert contributions to discourage irrational behavior. Per the system, voters can vote directly or delegate their voting power to an expert on the topic they trust.

Hoskinson, last year, introduced Cardano Improvement Proposal (CIP) 1694, the first proposal to usher in the Age of Voltaire. It suggests the creation of a Cardano constitution.