Algorand in the Middle: Cardano, Constellation Eye Partnership

• Cardano and Constellation are both vying for a partnership with Algorand.
• The competition is fueled in part by Constellation’s controversial work with the U.S. Department of Defense on the Iron Spider project.
• Charles Hoskinson, Cardano’s founder, has raised questions about the transparency of Constellation’s blockchain project.

Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson and blockchain firm Constellation are clashing over Constellation’s work with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and its Iron Spider project. Interestingly, both Cardano and Constellation are also exploring partnerships with Algorand.

Constellation Network, known for its DAG token, has been in the spotlight lately because of its rumored work with the DoD. Rumors began to swirl when it was revealed that the Undersecretary of Defense requested a meeting with the Constellation’s team, raising eyebrows in the crypto community.

Constellation confirmed they were working with the DoD, pointing to their Iron Spider project, which requires a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) and security clearance to participate. They also cite a tweet from John Alan Woods, connected to the Algorand project, who discussed possibly combining Algorand (ALGO) with Constellation’s Hypergraph Transfer Protocol (HGTP).

This caught the attention of Charles Hoskinson, the founder of Cardano, who expressed skepticism about Constellation’s claims. He remarked, “Even if I had a clearance, I don’t need to know,” referring to the need-to-know basis that governs access to classified information within government projects.

Hoskinson’s remarks come at a time when both Cardano and Constellation are eyeing partnerships with Algorand. Recently, the Cardano founder praised Algorand’s technology, saying this, when combined with a useful proof of work tuned to AI inference, might make it the greatest decentralized AI powerhouse the crypto industry has seen. 

The Cardano founder even teased the idea of an Algorand partner chain. Notably, Algorand Foundation’s CTO John Woods has also responded to the “Let’s talk” follow-up post from the Cardano Founder.

That said, the Twitter spat between Hoskinson and Constellation appears to go beyond the issues surrounding transparency and security in blockchain projects. Whether Algorand will play a decisive role remains to be seen. Hoskinson’s comments have undoubtedly sparked curiosity leaving the community eager for what comes next.