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Cardano’s Stablecoin Struggle, Input Output Hires Former Algorand Executives
- Cardano has posted weekly gains of 15%, but is still down 30% on the year.
- The project’s struggling ecosystem stablecoin, Djed, has paused token minting as the team attempts to solve issues with its reserves.
- Input Output, the company behind Djed, has appointed W. Sean Ford as CEO and David Markley as COO.
Cardano (ADA) has made a strong comeback in the past few weeks, up 15% over a seven-day timeframe. However, these short-term gains are just a drop in the bucket compared to the DeFi project’s struggles in 2023, which have included a 30% 12-month price decline for ADA and poor adoption for several native stablecoins.
Creator of Cardano and Input/Output, Speaks Out
Charles Hoskinson, prominent crypto figurehead and founder of Cardano, has spoken publicly amid rumours that Cardano’s flagship stablecoin project – Djed – was shutting down.
In a tweet, Hoskinson stated: “No we aren’t dropping Djed. We are supercharging the team.”
Djed got off to a hot start upon its release in January 2023, but both its reverses and community interest have dwindled since. The stablecoin – tied to the US Dollar – is developed by Input Output and uses ADA as collateral. The coin is intentionally overcollateralised, so for every one DJED minted, there should be four ADA in reserve. However, a lack of activity has resulted in the stablecoin’s reserves falling to around 356%, about 45% below the target figure. Due to this, Hoskinson and the team ceased minting new tokens as they figured out a new plan of attack.
New CEO of Input Output Set to Steer Ship
As part of their strategy to rejig the Djed stablecoin, the Input Output leadership group has made significant changes. The biggest is the appointment of W. Sean Ford as CEO. Ford brings experience from Algorand, where he served as a long-running CEO and COO while the project became a key pillar of the DeFi space. Alongside Ford is another long-time leader from Algorand, David Markley, who is joining as Input Output’s new COO.
On becoming CEO of Input Output, Ford was bullish on the impact DJED and other similar projects can have:
The stablecoin space is rapidly evolving as the next frontier in digital asset payments… I am excited to engage with the IOG team… as we work collectively to create the next generation of stable assets
W. Sean Ford 
Author
Ben Knight
Ben Knight is a writer and editor from Melbourne with a passion for all things music and finance. He enjoys turning complex topics – especially the technical details of cryptocurrency – into digestible bites that anybody can understand. He acquired his Master’s in Writing, Editing and Publishing from RMIT in 2019 and has run his own creative writing business ever since.
