Cardano Upgrades Coming Up After Community Greenlights $71M Funding
The Cardano community met the network’s recent governance vote with optimism and skepticism. Many welcomed the overhaul IO proposed for improving the chain’s performance, scalability, interoperability,...

- The Cardano community met the network’s recent governance vote with optimism and skepticism.
- Many welcomed the overhaul IO proposed for improving the chain’s performance, scalability, interoperability, transparency, decentralization, and more.
- Others criticized the proposal for lacking specific details about the distribution of the funding across the proposed initiatives for the network.
Cardano (ADA) successfully secured a $71 million treasury allocation during the weekend. This came following a landmark governance voting process participated in by its token holders. However, not everyone is pleased with the implementation of the overhaul that the Charles Hoskinson-led Input | Output Engineering (IOE) proposed.
What the Latest Cardano Governance Vote was All About
According to IOE, 73.93% of Cardano community members voted in favor of the proposed funding for upgrades within the chain’s ecosystem. The company considered the event a “significant milestone in the journey toward community-led delivery and long-term protocol advancement.” Specifically, the proposal aimed to enhance the network’s transparency, accountability, decentralization, and market momentum.
Tim Harrison, Executive Vice President of Community & Ecosystem at Input | Output (IO), claimed that it’s the first time the Cardano community has actively funded projects within the network’s roadmap. He saw the outcome as more than a vote of confidence but a shared commitment to the chain’s progress.
ADASTAT data revealed that voting for the proposal was supposed to run from July 18 to August 18. However, the process didn’t take long to finish, as it already secured enough support from a total of 3.76 billion ADA voting power. Only 23.86 million ADA rejected the measure, while 7.49 billion ADA opted out of voting.
As a result, Cardano immediately ratified the decision of the consensus.

Cardano stated it will use the $71 million budget unlocked under the governance vote to fund priority initiatives within its roadmap. These include the following:
- Ouroboros Leios: A new protocol enabling faster and lower-cost transactions.
- Hydra: A Layer-2 (L2) solution for increasing transaction throughput and improving cost efficiency.
- Mithril Enhancements: A stake-based multi-signature system for providing certified snapshots of all or part of the blockchain state, which offers a fast-pass for accessing the Cardano chain.
- Nested Transactions: Introduces a change to the ledger design to support a specific kind of transaction batching, paving the way for more advanced smart contracts and better interopability.
- Project Acropolis: A modular re-architecture within the Cardano node for greater flexibility and easier onboarding of new core developers.
- Performance Optimizations: Focuses on quicker sync times, lower RAM use, and lesser operational costs for stake pool operators.
Additionally, IO said it will utilize the funds for the expansion of Cardano’s use cases and adoption.
Criticism from the Cardano Community
IO previously outlined the mentioned initiatives in a document titled “The Cardano Roadmap.” However, those who have browsed its contents complained about each project’s lack of a program of works (POW), outlining the specific tasks, timeline, resources, and dependencies involved in its completion.
Others criticized IO for bundling all projects within a unified proposal, preventing voters from handpicking only the initiatives they wanted to fund or support.
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Giancarlo is an economist by profession with a career spanning nearly two decades. His professional journey has seen him assume vital roles in various government and private organizations such as the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), Megaworld Corporation, and the China Banking Corporation in the Republic of the Philippines. In addition to his civic and corporate pursuits, his forward-thinking approach has led him to manage several prominent websites in the banking and finance sector, notably the Australia-based RateChoice, where he immersed himself in the world of emerging financial technologies and where he found particular interest in Bitcoin all the way back to 2013. Prior to his addition to Blockzeit’s dynamic team, he held an essential role as Project Manager for initiatives encompassing blockchain, stablecoin, mining, special economic zone development, and iGaming. This noteworthy chapter in his career unfolded under the auspices of InPlan Consultancy Services, Inc., the think-tank of IMPERO Consortium Management Corporation headquartered in Manila, Philippines, and Tokyo, Japan. InPlan, led by a distinguished retired Cabinet member of the Philippines, collaborates directly with IMPERO's core management team, contributing to strategic planning and business development endeavors.
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