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

Input Output, the company responsible for developing the Cardano blockchain, has submitted nine proposals totaling $46.8 million for the 2026 voting cycle, marking a substantial reduction from its $97.5 million request in 2025. The proposals focus on enhancing Cardano's scalability and expanding its presence in Bitcoin DeFi. The Cardano network, like other major blockchains, has a community-funded treasury that allocates resources for development work through a voting process. Historically, Input Output has been the primary recipient of these funds due to its significant role in building and maintaining the underlying software. However, the company now aims to decrease its reliance on community funding and become self-sustaining. The reduced funding request is the first step towards achieving this goal, with plans to gradually decrease the amount requested each year. By the end of 2026, Input Output expects smaller, specialized teams to take over most of its current responsibilities, including firms like VacuumLabs and Midgard Labs that focus on specific aspects of the Cardano software. The nine proposals are grouped into two main themes: scaling and Bitcoin DeFi integration. The largest proposal funds the development of Leios, a consensus upgrade that promises to increase Cardano's transaction processing capacity by 10 to 65 times, potentially reaching over 1,000 transactions per second. This would position Cardano as a competitive player in the blockchain space, rivaling Solana and the fastest Ethereum layer-2 networks in terms of throughput. Leios is scheduled for a test release in June and full deployment by the end of the year. The second flagship proposal focuses on Pogun, a system designed to bring Bitcoin-based decentralized finance to Cardano. This would enable bitcoin holders to borrow and earn yield on their holdings without relying on centralized intermediaries. Pogun's lending component is expected to be released publicly in the second quarter. Other proposals cover performance enhancements to Cardano's smart contract engine, security testing infrastructure, developer tools, and expanded API services. Each proposal outlines specific delivery milestones and ties funding to the achievement of these milestones, rather than releasing funds upfront. The voting process, which opens on Tuesday and runs through May 24, will be overseen by approximately 1,000 elected delegates known as DReps, who represent ADA holders. The outcome of the vote will indicate whether Cardano's governance treats Input Output as any other grant applicant or continues to approve its requests based on its historical role in the project. Last year's $97.5 million proposal was approved, but the governance landscape has changed significantly since then, with the Cardano Foundation taking over the project's grant-funding arm and Intersect assuming stewardship of the core Cardano software. These shifts have created alternatives to Input Output, which may influence the voting outcome. Input Output also highlighted progress in the ecosystem, including the launch of a new Cardano stablecoin, USDCx, which has reached 14.6 million tokens in circulation, and an increase in total assets deposited on Cardano, from $137.5 million to $142.7 million. The outcome of the vote will signal how the Cardano community's perspective has shifted, now that there are alternatives to funding development through Input Output.