Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has accused large financial institutions of orchestrating a 'pump and dump' scheme that led to the recent cryptocurrency market crash. Hoskinson claims that firms like Citadel manipulated digital asset treasuries to inflate prices before shorting the market, resulting in significant profits and a subsequent price collapse. This alleged manipulation saw Bitcoin's value plummet from $126,000 to $80,600, while Cardano hit a multi-month low of $0.3911. Hoskinson also criticized retail investors for not learning from past market cycles, particularly the 2021 bull run, and warned against the dangers of leverage and speculative trading. Despite the downturn, he remains optimistic about a market recovery, highlighting the potential positive effects of the U.S. Clarity Act on investor confidence.