After Input Output Global (IOG) announced it, a third-party examination of the prolonged Cardano (ADA) voucher redemption program is now officially underway. This confirmation came from Joel Telpner, IOG’s chief legal and policy officer, who stated that international law firm McDermott Will & Emery (MW&E) and auditing powerhouse BDO have been hired to “carry out an audit and publish a public report detailing the ADA redemption process.
This initiative aims to resolve prolonged debates regarding accusations about the covert redirection of approximately hundreds of millions of unclaimed ADA during a 2021 transaction, and to establish an accurate and transparent historical record detailing the status and current whereabouts of every presale token.
Cardano Engages Firms To Audit Unclaimed ADA Vouchers
Emurgo, one of the original creators of Cardano, expressed approval for this development and encouraged the community to “wait for the conclusions of the independent audit.” They emphasized that only a small portion of pre-sale vouchers are left unaccounted for after an extensive seven-year search, which included house-to-house inquiries in Japan.
As a crypto investor, I recently came across Telpner’s post on X where he mentioned that both MW&E, a globally recognized law firm with over 1,400 lawyers spread across 24 locations, and BDO, a renowned global accounting and audit firm operating in various parts of the world, have been tasked to deliver their report immediately, aiming to submit it “as soon as humanly possible.” The digital assets expertise of MW&E’s fintech and blockchain group, which has secured a ranking in Chambers FinTech for two consecutive years, showcases their extensive knowledge in regulatory and transactional matters related to this sector.
As an analyst, I can share that BDO showcases a specialized digital-asset forensics unit. This practice integrates on-chain analysis with open-source intelligence, enabling us to follow intricate token transactions. Telpner mentioned that upon completion of conflict checks, a proficient blockchain analytics firm will join our team to strengthen our efforts in this area.
In a post made just hours before Telpner’s announcement, Emurgo highlighted that most of the pre-sale ADA vouchers have been successfully redeemed. They added that the leftover, technically unusable portion became so due to the Shelley hard fork, thus requiring an on-chain action to safeguard redemption privileges. The company expressed understanding for the community’s dissatisfaction but cautioned against excessive, unjustified FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt) that disregards the intricate details of the painstaking redeeming process.
On May 19th, the Cardano Foundation, who hadn’t taken a direct role in post-2021 voucher operations, released a statement acknowledging that “the initiative to trace and assist the last voucher holders has been spearheaded by the IO team for the past four years.” They also expressed their anticipation towards the upcoming audit.
The call for a thorough investigation increased significantly following Masato Alexander, an NFT artist, posting a series of tweets on May 7th, alleging that Charles Hoskinson, the founder of IOG, had utilized “genesis keys” during the Allegra hard fork to transfer approximately 318 million ADA (valued at around $619 million at the time) from unredeemed presale wallets to treasury accounts through a Move Instantaneous Rewards (MIR) transaction in October 2021.
Hoskinson dismissed the claim as “false and misleading,” stating that IOG (Input Output Global) did not acquire 350 million unclaimed ADA for itself. Instead, he explained that a miniscule portion of the crowd sale’s unredeemed remainder, which accounts for less than 0.2%, was donated to Intersect, Cardano’s governing body. Additionally, Hoskinson warned that he would take legal action against those continuing to spread this false allegation.
As a researcher, I must clarify that we haven’t established a specific publication date yet. When asked about the timeline for the final report, Dr. Telpner candidly admitted, “I can’t give you an exact date at this moment.” However, both firms have been instructed to expedite the audit process and make the report available as soon as feasibly possible.
At press time, ADA traded at $0.727.
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2025-05-21 08:51