Cardano Developer Seeks Reduced Funding of $46.8 Million for Expansion and Bitcoin DeFi Integration

Input Output, the company responsible for developing the Cardano blockchain, is requesting roughly half the funding it sought in the previous year from the project's community treasury. The company has submitted nine proposals totaling $46.8 million for 2026, down from $97.5 million in 2025, with several focusing on scaling the network to increase transaction capacity and expanding into Bitcoin DeFi. This reduction marks the first step in a plan to decrease dependence on community funding, with the goal of Input Output becoming self-sustaining through its own revenue. The proposals are divided into two main themes: scaling and Bitcoin DeFi. The larger funds will go towards a consensus upgrade called Leios, which is expected to increase Cardano's transaction processing capacity by 10 to 65 times. Another key proposal is for a system called Pogun, which aims to bring Bitcoin-based decentralized finance to Cardano, allowing bitcoin holders to borrow and earn yield without relying on a centralized intermediary. Smaller proposals cover performance improvements, security testing, developer tools, and API services. Each proposal has specific delivery leads and ties funding to milestones rather than providing upfront payment. The voting process, which opens on Tuesday and runs through May 24, will be decided by approximately 1,000 elected delegates representing ADA holders. The outcome will test whether Cardano's governance treats Input Output like any other grant applicant or continues to approve its requests based on deference. The Cardano ecosystem has shown progress, with a new stablecoin, USDCx, reaching 14.6 million tokens in circulation and total assets deposited on the network rising to $142.7 million.