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

Input Output, the company responsible for developing the Cardano blockchain, has submitted nine proposals for the 2026 funding cycle, totaling $46.8 million. This marks a substantial reduction from the $97.5 million requested in 2025. The proposals focus on enhancing Cardano's scalability and exploring Bitcoin DeFi opportunities. The company's reduced funding request is part of a plan to decrease its dependence on community treasury allocations and transition towards self-sustainability. By the end of 2026, Input Output expects smaller teams to take over most of its current responsibilities. 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, while the Pogun system seeks to introduce Bitcoin-based decentralized finance to Cardano. Other proposals cover performance improvements, security testing, and developer tools. Each proposal is tied to specific delivery milestones, and voting will be open until May 24. The outcome 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.