In a recent post on X, Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson shared a surprising issue that revolves around identity, which may apply to everyone: he had trouble proving he was really himself on social media.
The Cardano founder had participated in a conversation on a Telegram group dedicated to Midnight. This led participants in the group to start asking if it was truly him who joined the Telegram chat or not.
“Wait, you think this is really charles,” a user asked. One answered in the affirmative, while another (obviously the Telegram moderator) doubted if it was truly him, asking the Cardano founder to change his name or be removed from the chat.
The Cardano founder shared a screenshot that reflected this hilarious yet concerning moment.
I’m having trouble proving to our mods that I’m Charles hoskinson. If only there was some form of ZK system that would allow me to prove my identity on telegram… pic.twitter.com/RfVgOOhrDj
— Charles Hoskinson (@IOHK_Charles) March 30, 2026
“I’m having trouble proving to our mods that I’m Charles hoskinson. If only there was some form of ZK system that would allow me to prove my identity on telegram,” Hoskinson tweeted.
This is not surprising, given the trend in the crypto space, where scammers impersonate well-known individuals in the space with the intent of passing on misinformation and defrauding unsuspecting victims.
ZK solution enters
Scammers often impersonate major crypto entities using images and branding on social media platforms like X, Telegram, Facebook or Instagram. This has prompted a sort of defensive stance among crypto users, and in a bid to stay vigilant, may cause them to doubt even if they are approached by true entities. This is even compounded as there yet stands no tool to verify true identities on social media.
Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson hints at ZK solution (Zero Knowledge) as a fix to this issue.
“If only there was some form of ZK system that would allow me to prove my identity on telegram,” Hoskinson tweeted ironically. The ZK mentioned by the Cardano founder forms the basis of the recently launched Midnight blockchain.
In a major development for the Cardano ecosystem, the Midnight network officially went live on March 30. Midnight brings rational privacy to blockchain by using zero-knowledge proofs to protect sensitive data and developer-friendly tools to create dApps.