Cardano's Lead Developer Slashes Funding Request to $46.8 Million, Signaling Shift Toward Independence

Input Output, the engineering organization behind Cardano, has submitted nine proposals requesting $46.8 million in community treasury funding for 2026—roughly half of the $97.5 million it sought last year—marking a deliberate effort to reduce reliance on shared ecosystem resources.

The scaled-back funding request reflects Input Output's strategy to gradually phase out its dependence on community money while smaller development teams assume greater responsibility for building the blockchain. The company's proposals prioritize two major initiatives: a consensus upgrade called Leios designed to dramatically increase transaction throughput, and Pogun, a system intended to integrate Bitcoin-based decentralized finance into the Cardano ecosystem.

Scaling Ambitions and Bitcoin Integration

Input Output's nine proposals concentrate on two primary objectives. The Leios consensus upgrade represents the centerpiece, with the company claiming it could boost Cardano's transaction processing capacity by 10 to 65 times, potentially exceeding 1,000 transactions per second. This performance level would position Cardano competitively alongside Solana and leading Ethereum layer-2 networks. The upgrade is scheduled for testing in June with full deployment targeted for year-end.

The second major initiative, Pogun, aims to enable Bitcoin holders to participate in decentralized finance activities on Cardano—allowing them to borrow against and earn yield on their holdings without surrendering custody to centralized intermediaries. The system's lending component is expected to launch publicly in the second quarter.

Additional proposals address performance enhancements to Cardano's smart contract infrastructure, security testing frameworks, developer tools, and expanded application programming interfaces.

Funding Structure and Governance Vote

Each proposal designates specific delivery leads and ties financial disbursements to concrete milestones rather than providing upfront capital. This approach mirrors staged contractor payments tied to project completion rather than initial lump-sum transfers.

Approximately 1,000 elected delegates known as DReps will determine the proposals' fate through a vote running until May 24. These representatives function similarly to proxy voters in publicly traded companies, acting on behalf of ADA token holders. Charles Hoskinson, Input Output's founder, is scheduled to release a video this week addressing the delegates directly.

Declining Institutional Dependence

Input Output's reduced funding request represents the first tangible implementation of a broader transition plan. The company intends to continue decreasing its annual requests, eventually achieving financial sustainability through independent revenue while directing community resources toward a larger ecosystem of specialized engineering firms. By year-end 2026, smaller teams including organizations such as VacuumLabs and Midgard Labs are expected to handle much of the work Input Output currently performs internally.

The voting outcome will demonstrate whether Cardano's expanded governance framework now treats Input Output as a standard grant applicant or continues to prioritize its requests out of historical precedent. Last year's $97.5 million proposal received approval, but the landscape has shifted considerably. The Cardano Foundation has assumed control of the project's grant-making operations, while Intersect, the governance entity conducting this vote, now oversees core Cardano software development.

Ecosystem Growth Indicators

Input Output highlighted several positive ecosystem developments in its funding announcement. A new Cardano stablecoin, USDCx, accumulated 14.6 million tokens in circulation shortly after launch. Total assets deposited across Cardano increased from $137.5 million to $142.7 million during the same timeframe, a standard metric for assessing network utilization.