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 roughly half the funding it requested 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 a focus on scaling Cardano's transaction capacity and expanding into Bitcoin DeFi. This reduction marks the first step in a plan to decrease dependence on community funding, with the goal of becoming self-sustaining through its own revenue. By the end of 2026, Input Output expects smaller teams to take over most of its current work, including firms like VacuumLabs and Midgard Labs. The proposals are divided into two main themes: a consensus upgrade called Leios, which aims to increase Cardano's transaction processing capacity, and a system called Pogun, which seeks to integrate Bitcoin-based decentralized finance into Cardano. Other proposals cover performance improvements, security testing, and expanded API services. Each proposal is tied to specific delivery milestones, and voting will be open from Tuesday until May 24, with decisions made 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.