The Cardano community has approved a major development proposal, allocating over 96 million ADA—worth approximately $70 million—to Input Output Engineering (IOE), the blockchain network’s development team.
The decision, announced on August 2, followed a community vote in which nearly 74% supported the funding request.
Significant Funding to Support Cardano Development
According to the firm, the funding will power IOE’s protocol roadmap, which targets scalability improvements, better developer tools, and enhanced cross-chain capabilities.
The planned initiatives include upgrades to Ouroboros Leios, Hydra for scalability, Mithril enhancements, Nested Transactions, and Project Acropolis.
Collectively, these efforts aim to make Cardano more responsive, efficient, and accessible for users and builders alike.
Ricky Rand, the General Manager at IOE, hailed the approval as a strong vote of confidence in Cardano’s long-term potential.
However, he acknowledged that delivering the planned upgrades with integrity, transparency, and alignment with community goals is the real challenge.
“This is a vote of confidence in Cardano’s future – and a model for how decentralized funding and delivery can work at scale. The real work begins now – delivering with integrity, reporting with transparency, and building with and for the community,” Rand stated.
Meanwhile, the approved grant will not be provided all at once. Instead, the funds will be distributed in stages, tied to measurable milestones.
Intersect, a Cardano community member organization, will act as the independent administrator, ensuring accountability.
The firm also stated that Cardano-based smart contracts and an oversight committee will monitor progress and verify that the funds are spent appropriately.
Separately, the IOE has committed to releasing monthly development updates, engineering timesheets, and quarterly budget reports.
The updates aim to keep the Cardano community informed throughout the build cycle and ensure transparency in the use of treasury funds.
Other Projects Seeking Cardano Treasury Funding
Following IOE’s funding approval, Tim Harrison, EVP of Community & Ecosystem at Input Output, pointed out that many valuable projects within the Cardano ecosystem still need support.
“There are still a host of worthy projects looking to get across the line, with your support. So DReps – please keep voting,” Harrison stated
One such project is Snek, a Cardano-based memecoin. It has submitted a proposal seeking 5 million ADA to support listing efforts on top-tier exchanges and trading platforms like Hyperliquid.
Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson responded to the request by suggesting that structuring it as a bond would be more sustainable. In this case, he noted that the treasury should receive the ADA repayments over three years.
Nevertheless, he reaffirmed his support for ecosystem projects but stated that treasury funds should not subsidize listing fees, even for prominent ventures like Midnight.
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