Charles Hoskinson, the founder of Cardano, has shared a fascinating account of the early decision-making process that led to the establishment of Cardano. In a recent discussion, Hoskinson revealed that he initially considered using the Clojure programming language to build the Cardano blockchain platform. However, he ultimately chose Haskell, a statically typed functional programming language, driven by the potential of Cloud Haskell and the aspiration to utilize Liquid Haskell and Agda.

Hoskinson's choice was influenced by the capabilities of Cloud Haskell, which provides a distributed computing framework that aligns well with the requirements of a blockchain platform. Additionally, Liquid Haskell and Agda offer advanced capabilities for formal verification and ensuring code correctness. This choice was not taken lightly, as Hoskinson and Ktorz, the technical director of the Cardano Foundation, demonstrated a deep understanding of various programming languages, with a particular interest in Lisp, a dialect of which is Clojure.

Despite his initial interest in Clojure, Hoskinson reflected on the path that might have been if Cardano had been built with Clojure. He envisioned a Cardano built entirely on Clojure, employing ClojureScript for client-side development and ClojureSpec for specifications and testing. However, Hoskinson's reflections are not filled with regret but with thoughtful consideration of what could have been. He mused that it could have been an 'amazing journey' to write everything in Cardano using ClojureScript and ClojureSpec.

In conclusion, Hoskinson's account provides a unique glimpse into the early development of Cardano, highlighting the careful consideration that went into choosing the programming language for the blockchain platform. While the choice of Haskell ultimately prevailed, Hoskinson's reflections on the potential of Clojure serve as a testament to the versatility and adaptability of programming languages in the development of innovative technologies.