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 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 its transaction capacity and expanding into Bitcoin DeFi. This reduction in funding is part of a plan to decrease dependency on community funds, with the goal of Input Output becoming self-sustaining through its own revenue. By the end of 2026, smaller teams are expected to take over most of the work currently handled by Input Output, including firms like VacuumLabs and Midgard Labs that specialize in specific layers of the Cardano software. The proposals are divided into two main themes: scaling and Bitcoin DeFi. The Leios consensus upgrade aims to increase Cardano's transaction processing capacity by 10 to 65 times, targeting over 1,000 transactions per second, while the Pogun system seeks to bring Bitcoin-based decentralized finance to Cardano, allowing bitcoin holders to borrow and earn yield on their holdings without relying on a centralized intermediary. Other proposals cover performance improvements, security testing, developer tools, and expanded API services. Each proposal has specific delivery leads and ties funding to delivery milestones. Voting on the proposals will run from Tuesday to May 24, with roughly 1,000 elected delegates making the decisions. 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. Meanwhile, Input Output has cited progress in the ecosystem, including the launch of a new Cardano stablecoin, USDCx, and an increase in total assets deposited on the network.