Cardano's community endorses significant updates through a landmark decision in core development.
In a significant move towards decentralized funding and development, the Cardano community has directly approved core protocol funding for the first time. This decision marks a shared commitment to progress by Input Output, the company responsible for the Cardano network's development [1][3][5].
The Cardano community approved a treasury withdrawal of 96.8 million ADA (approximately $70 million) to fund Input Output’s core protocol development, with about 74% voter support. This direct community governance vote marks the first time core protocol funding was explicitly sanctioned by the community itself [1][3][5].
Intersect, Cardano's member-based organization, will play the role of an independent administrator, overseeing the funding disbursement. Instead of releasing funds upfront or on a fixed schedule, Intersect will verify milestone completions before approving tranche payments, ensuring funds are released only upon verified delivery. This oversight is enforced by a combination of on-chain smart contracts, milestone-based payments, a dedicated oversight committee, and transparent reporting [1][4][5].
The new funding model represents a structural shift toward decentralized funding and development delivery on Cardano, aimed at better transparency, shared responsibility, and resilient ecosystem growth [1][2][3][5]. Key components of this shift include:
- Funding approval: Direct community governance vote (73.9% support)
- Payment schedule: Milestone-based payment releases enforced via smart contracts
- Oversight & accountability: Independent verification by Intersect, committee oversight, and transparent public reporting
- Transparency and reporting: Monthly updates, timesheets, quarterly budget reports to the community
- Community involvement and shared responsibility: Community directly funds and holds IOE accountable
In addition to this, several engineering improvements are on the agenda. Project Acropolis, a modular re-architecture of the Cardano node, aims to make core contributions more accessible. Mithril enhancements are intended to reduce bootstrap time and enable lightweight clients. Performance optimizations, including faster sync, lower RAM, and reduced operator costs, are also part of the near-term engineering agenda [2].
Ouroboros Leios, a foundational performance upgrade, is highlighted for its role in increasing throughput without compromising security or decentralization. Hydra is mentioned for its role in supporting ultra-low-latency, low-cost transactions for real-time uses [2].
Nested transactions are included to extend smart-contract expressivity and cross-chain behavior. The ratified roadmap for Cardano focuses on improving throughput, developer experience, and interoperability [2].
Input Output plans to help contributors mature into independent proposers in future rounds, hardening decentralization over time. The process of executing the roadmap anticipates wider participation, including onboarding external vendors [2].
Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson amplified the sentiment, expressing gratitude for the community's support and trust. The approval marks a new era of decentralized delivery for the Cardano network [2].
At press time, ADA traded at $0.73 [6].
[1] https://iohk.io/en/blog/posts/2022/08/02/cardano-community-approves-ioe-core-development-proposal-with-74-percent-support/ [2] https://iohk.io/en/blog/posts/2022/08/02/cardano-community-approves-ioe-core-development-proposal-with-74-percent-support/ [3] https://cardanoscan.io/treasury/proposals/173 [4] https://github.com/input-output-hk/ouroboros-network/blob/master/specs/leios/leios.md [5] https://cardano.org/en/intersect/ [6] https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/cardano/
- The Cardano community's direct community governance vote, which had 74% voter support, signifies a significant step in the sports of tech and finance as it marks the first time core protocol funding was explicitly sanctioned by the community itself.
- The first-of-its-kind decentralized funding model implemented in Cardano's new development phase aims to foster a shared commitment to progress in both technology and sports, as funds will be disbursed based on verified milestone completions enforced by smart contracts and an independent administrator.
