Cardano Holders Approve First Treasury Withdrawal — What’s Next for ADA Governance? - Crypto Economy

TL;DR

• Milestone: Eternl wallet secures first Cardano treasury payment of 5,830 ADA after community-approved proposal, marking the start of direct, on-chain project funding.
• Upgrades: Treasury allocation targets key developments, including Ouroboros Leios, Hydra scaling, Mithril speedups, and modular node project Acropolis.
• Governance: CIP-1694 reforms and the new Constitutional Committee empower ADA holders to vote directly on protocol changes and oversee network resources.
  

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Cardano has completed its first community treasury disbursement, marking a milestone in the network’s evolving governance model. Eternl wallet became the first project to withdraw funds following a community-approved proposal, signaling a new era of on-chain decision-making and project funding.

Congratulations to @eternlwallet on being the first *actual, physical* recipient of community voted treasury funds.https://t.co/B1WTxpycNw

So far we've seen several treasury *withdrawals*, from Amaru to all the intersect administered governance actions.

However, each of those…

— Quantumplation | Pi Lanningham (@Quantumplation) August 22, 2025

First Treasury Disbursement to Eternl Wallet

The Eternl wallet, which works on multiple platforms, got 5,830 ADA as its first milestone payment from the 96.8 million ADA treasury withdrawal pool. The Cardano Foundation confirmed the Oversight Committee had reviewed and approved the vendor contract before releasing funds. Sundae Labs CTO Pi Lunningham congratulated Eternl, noting this was the first full disbursement to an external project rather than funds remaining in smart contracts.

Community Approval and Funding Roadmap

The funds were distributed after a governance vote on August 2, where around 74% of ADA holders who participated supported the Input Output Engineering protocol roadmap for treasury assistance. This was the first instance where community resources would directly finance protocol-level development. Tim Harrison from Input Output highlighted that using internal funding guarantees transparency, accountability, and a dedication to creating an open and resilient ecosystem.

Planned Network Upgrades

Treasury-supported projects consist of Ouroboros Leios, a consensus improvement designed to increase throughput, and Hydra, a layer-two solution for quicker, more affordable transactions. Mithril upgrades are anticipated to shorten node startup times, while Project Acropolis will launch a modular node structure to draw in new developers.

Additional improvements target performance optimization, reduced synchronization times, lower memory requirements, and nested transactions to support advanced smart contracts and cross-chain interoperability.

Governance Framework in Action

This milestone comes amid broader governance reforms. In June, Cardano chose its first Constitutional Committee, which consists of seven members responsible for evaluating proposals based on the network’s constitution. The adoption of CIP-1694 in February strengthened on-chain governance by enabling ADA holders to vote directly on protocol changes or delegate their votes, with stake pool operators serving in an advisory capacity. The Eternl disbursement demonstrates how these governance mechanisms are now translating into tangible project funding.