Cardano Developer Requests Reduced Funding of $46.8 Million for Expansion and DeFi Initiatives

The company behind the Cardano blockchain, Input Output, is seeking a reduced amount of funding from the project's community treasury for 2026. The firm has submitted nine proposals totaling $46.8 million, down from $97.5 million in the previous year. The proposals focus on enhancing the scalability of the Cardano network and expanding its presence in the Bitcoin DeFi space. This reduction in funding request is part of a broader plan to decrease Input Output's reliance on community funds and allow smaller engineering teams to take on more development work. By the end of 2026, Input Output expects specialized teams to handle most of its current in-house tasks, including firms like VacuumLabs and Midgard Labs. The proposals are grouped into two main themes: scaling and Bitcoin DeFi. The first theme involves a consensus upgrade called Leios, which aims to increase Cardano's transaction processing capacity by 10 to 65 times. The second theme involves a system called Pogun, which seeks to bring Bitcoin-based decentralized finance to the Cardano network. Other proposals cover performance improvements, security testing, and expanded API services. Each proposal has specific delivery leads and ties funding to delivery milestones. Voting on the proposals is set to open and will be decided by roughly 1,000 elected delegates. 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 and an increase in total assets deposited on the network.