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

Input Output, the company responsible for building and maintaining the Cardano blockchain, is seeking approximately half the funding it requested in the previous year from the project's treasury. The company has submitted nine proposals totaling $46.8 million for 2026, down from $97.5 million in 2025, with a focus on scaling the network and expanding into Bitcoin DeFi. Cardano's community treasury is a shared pool of funds generated from network fees, which are allocated towards development work through a voting process. Historically, Input Output has been the largest recipient of these funds due to its significant role in building the underlying software. However, the company aims to reduce its dependency on community funds by decreasing its annual funding requests until it can sustain itself through its own revenue. This reduced ask is the first step towards achieving this goal, with the company expecting smaller, specialized teams to take on most of its current work by the end of 2026. The nine proposals submitted by Input Output can be grouped into two main themes: scaling and Bitcoin DeFi integration. The first theme focuses on a consensus upgrade called Leios, which is expected to increase Cardano's transaction processing capacity by 10 to 65 times, allowing for over 1,000 transactions per second. This upgrade is scheduled for a test release in June and full deployment by the end of the year. The second theme involves a system called Pogun, which aims to bring Bitcoin-based decentralized finance to Cardano, enabling 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 improvements to Cardano's smart contract engine, security testing infrastructure, developer tools, and expanded API services. Each proposal outlines specific delivery leads and ties funding to delivery milestones, rather than releasing funds upfront. Voting on these proposals is set to open and will run through May 24, with decisions made by approximately 1,000 elected delegates representing ADA holders. The outcome of the vote will test whether Cardano's governance treats Input Output like any other grant applicant or continues to approve its requests based on deference. Meanwhile, Input Output has cited 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.