From Roadmap to Reality: Cardano Community Approves IOE Roadmap Proposal, Unlocking a New Era of Decentralized Delivery
Input | Output Engineering (IOE) has officially been approved funding for its protocol roadmap proposal from the Cardano treasury following overwhelming community approval.
August 2nd, 2025: Input | Output Engineering (IOE) has officially been approved funding for its protocol roadmap proposal from the Cardano treasury following overwhelming community approval.
The Cardano Community has officially voted in support of the IOE funding proposal (with a 73.93% vote) marking a significant milestone in the journey toward community-led delivery and long-term protocol advancement.
With this approval, the community has endorsed not just a set of technical upgrades, but a shared vision for Cardano’s future - one grounded in transparency, accountability, and momentum. The roadmap, developed in alignment with community priorities and approved earlier this year, outlines one of the most ambitious development phases in the chain’s history.
This marks the first time that core development funding for Cardano has been directly authorized by the community - a milestone in the evolution of decentralized governance.
“This is a milestone moment for Cardano,” said Tim Harrison, EVP Community & Ecosystem at Input | Output. “For the first time, core protocol development is being funded directly by the community. This vote of confidence empowers us to move forward with full transparency, shared responsibility, and a renewed commitment to building an open, resilient ecosystem.”
The approved budget enables delivery of major upgrades across scalability, developer experience, and interoperability. Key initiatives include:
- Ouroboros Leios: A foundational performance upgrade to unlock higher throughput without sacrificing security or decentralization.
- Hydra: A protocol for ultra-fast, low-cost transactions—ideal for microtransactions and real-time use cases.
- Mithril Enhancements: Reduced bootstrap times and lightweight client support for broader adoption.
- Nested Transactions: Technical foundations for more advanced smart contracts and seamless interoperability.
- Project Acropolis: A modular re-architecture of the Cardano node, enabling greater flexibility and easier onboarding of new core developers.
- Performance Optimizations: Faster sync times, lower RAM usage, and reduced operational costs for stake pool operators.
You can find a more complete overview of the approved roadmap here. Together, these upgrades lay the groundwork for a more scalable, accessible, and performant Cardano - unlocking new capabilities for builders and users alike. Beyond its own delivery commitments, IOE will also support broader participation by onboarding external vendors - many from the Cardano Developer Ecosystem Coalition (CDEC). The goal is to build capacity, transfer knowledge, and help new contributors emerge as independent proposers in future funding rounds, strengthening decentralization over time.
Baked In Accountability
Funding is milestone-based, with Cardano member-based organization Intersect acting as independent administrator. Payments are released only upon verified delivery, with oversight managed via smart contracts and a dedicated committee. IOE will also publish monthly updates, engineering timesheets, and quarterly budget breakdowns to keep the community fully informed throughout the process.
“Securing this funding is just the start,” said Ricky Rand, General Manager, Input | Output Engineering. “This is a vote of confidence in Cardano’s future - and a model for how decentralized funding and delivery can work at scale. The real work begins now - delivering with integrity, reporting with transparency, and building with and for the community.”
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