Expired Cardano Treasury Withdrawal Proposals

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**Proposal as pdf: [https://ipnso-com.ipns.dweb.link/?cid=QmUdbgB3eHms52HY4oha5u2V4mrpCZkhBw2AaozeMiz8sL](https://ipnso-com.ipns.dweb.link/?cid=QmUdbgB3eHms52HY4oha5u2V4mrpCZkhBw2AaozeMiz8sL)** One of the primary challenges in decentralizing access to data-providing services such as Blockfrost is the substantial amount of resources required to index the entire Cardano blockchain dataset, even when only a fraction of that data is needed in practice. As Cardano prepares for Leios, the cost of indexing the full blockchain dataset will grow substantially. Today, participating in data-serving infrastructure requires indexing the entire chain. This prices out smaller operators and concentrates infrastructure around fewer providers. Project Cayley introduces decentralized slice indexing — allowing SPOs and node operators to choose which portions of the chain they want to index and serve. This lowers the barrier to participation, reduces infrastructure costs across the ecosystem, and keeps data-serving infrastructure decentralized as the chain scales. Its modular multi-chain architecture further enables developers to access data across Cardano, Midnight, and Bitcoin through a unified API. This proposal funds two components: Project Cayley ($1,000,000) to build the next-generation indexing architecture, and an operational subsidy ($900,000) to maintain the free-tier infrastructure that Blockfrost has funded entirely on its own since inception. **Total ask: ₳7.92M** ($1,900,000 at $0.24/₳).

**Proposal as pdf: [https://ipnso-com.ipns.dweb.link/?cid=QmYfHrmfTKYGK9YR95ewXSwEruEfGPAtpnp1qwoEUekJa7](https://ipnso-com.ipns.dweb.link/?cid=QmYfHrmfTKYGK9YR95ewXSwEruEfGPAtpnp1qwoEUekJa7)** Cardano's current L1 infrastructure — two-hour finality, \~$0.17 per transaction, and \~7–10 TPS, systematically disqualifies it from high-performance verticals such as DeFi, AI agent micropayments, gaming, and consumer payments before a technical evaluation even begins. Upcoming L1 upgrades (Leios, Peras) will strengthen the base layer will not alone meet the requirements of zero-fee or sub-second use cases. Layer 2 infrastructure is the only path to closing this gap in the current cycle. This proposal, led by Input Output in partnership with Midgard Labs, delivers three complementary workstreams: shared L2-agnostic infrastructure (a data availability solution benefiting all current and future Cardano L2s); production hardening of Hydra, including performance optimization, operational tooling, and DeFi reference implementations to support live adopters Delta DeFi and Masumi; and the mainnet launch of Midgard, Cardano's first permissionless optimistic rollup, targeting 10,000+ TPS and sub-$0.01 fees for open-participation applications. Hydra and Midgard are not competing solutions — they address distinct trust models and together cover a far broader range of use cases than either could alone. L2s grow the Cardano ecosystem rather than cannibalize it. Activity on Hydra and Midgard anchors back to L1 through block publication and settlement, generating protocol revenue that would otherwise flow to competing ecosystems. Midgard's architecture additionally includes a mechanism to route a portion of sequencer revenue to the Cardano treasury, creating a durable, non-speculative economic relationship between L2 growth and ecosystem sustainability. By supporting the first wave of production adopters now, this proposal establishes the reference deployments and developer confidence needed to compound ecosystem growth through subsequent cycles.. **Treasury Ask:** ₳10,425,871

*Proposal as pdf: https://ipnso-com.ipns.dweb.link/?cid=bafybeibbrhuis55rl52hsp5rboooobjg4rvq7q5ly2mern7s7f3xcbjzwi* Bitcoin is a \$1.5T asset with virtually no native DeFi infrastructure. The race to become the dominant credit and liquidity layer for BTC is the largest open market opportunity in crypto. Pogun is an end-to-end Bitcoin liquidity and credit engine built to position Cardano as the definitive home of Bitcoin DeFi. Demonstrating our commitment to the proper use of public funds, Pogun will return 20% of EBITDA to the Cardano Treasury until the initial funding is repaid. This will be followed by an ongoing 5% perpetual return. Pogun delivers three integrated components: * **Credit Market (Q2 2026)** - A non-margin peer-to-peer credit market. A fully on-chain, oracle-free lending protocol where collateral is only at risk upon default, not price fluctuations. * **Yield (Q3 2026)** - A deposit-and-earn layer that routes user capital into yield-generating strategies across private credit, RWAs, and structured fixed-income products. * **Bridge (Q4 2026)** - BitVM-powered trust-minimized bridge providing 1-of-N security for institutional-grade Bitcoin custody: bridge BTC to Cardano, borrow against it, and earn without surrendering custody of the underlying asset. To execute this roadmap, this treasury withdrawal requests ₳12.29M (equivalent to \$2.95M USD at a reference rate of \$.24/₳).

**Treasury Withdrawal Proposal** By: Cardano Foundation & EMURGO This Proposal as a PDF: https://ipnso-com.ipns.dweb.link/?cid=QmQc5zt319nHtseyj4vVKkm4PFCHS7To3WCs6pH3SGgrxq This proposal outlines a high-impact, effective, dual-event strategy to be executed in Singapore from October 5–8, 2026. This strategy is designed to maximize budget efficiency by co-locating two key events to maximize the reach of Cardano and its ecosystem: 1. **The Cardano Summit 2026:** A two-day dedicated event hosted by the Cardano Foundation, providing a showcase for Cardano's community innovation and technology, enterprise applications, institutional use cases, regulatory roundtables, and governance maturity. Interest in the Cardano Summit, from both media and enterprise, has steadily increased since its inception, reaching its highest level in 2025/2026. 2. **Cardano Premier Title Sponsorship at TOKEN2049**: The world's largest blockchain summit with over 25,000 attendees. The package includes a large-format exhibition booth in a premium traffic zone, a historic first-ever mainstage keynote— exclusive to title sponsors — on-site media interviews, and a dedicated ecosystem showcase from the top 20 projects on Cardano. This sponsorship will be fully managed by EMURGO. The Cardano Foundation and EMURGO teams are requesting a total of 14,076,539 ada ($3,659,900 USD): 1. 9,615,385 ada (USD 2,500,000) for the 2026 Cardano Summit managed by the Cardano Foundation 2. 4,461,154 ada (USD 1,159,900) for a “Title” TOKEN2049 Sponsorship managed by EMURGO Based on the current value of ada **at 0.26 to the US Dollar** (at the time of writing), this translates into 14,076,539 ada. Please see the Proposal Specifics and Budget Breakdown below for further details on the budget and administration process. Key Performance Indicators are included in Section 7 below. This proposal is being submitted outside of the Intersect budget process due to critical timing constraints, as payments made through this process are projected to be made in August or September at the earliest, which is unworkable for 2026 events. Waiting for this process would mean missing the crucial opportunity to build upon the Summit momentum generated in 2025. The full concept and slide deck can be found here: https://ipnso-com.ipns.dweb.link/?cid=QmaF8tt7prMb41TqSfN9GSJhM5PcWXVuD7uxYBDjecjaDX

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This Treasury Withdrawal funds **12 months** of full active maintenance and development for GovTool, the open-source, community-owned set of governance tools that form Cardano’s core low-barrier platform for participation in on-chain governance. GovTool enables ada holders to register, delegate, propose, vote, and transparently view outcomes. It is actively maintained and expanded by the Cardano GovTool Consortium which consists of ByronNetwork, WeDeliver, LidoNation and Dquadrant with additional open source contributors, guided by the Governance Tools Working Group. Funding will ensure operational stability, incentivisation for community contributions, support for other open source governance tools using GovTool open-source code and APIs, and deliver accelerated functional updates across all governance pillars. Any unused funds will be returned to the Cardano Treasury. This withdrawal follows the approved budget Info Action for ₳1.15M (gov_action1n5sn54mgf47a7men2ryq6ppx88kta4wvenz2qkl4f9v6ppje8easqxwm88m) and it will be administered by Intersect via smart contract framework, fulfilling the constitutional requirement to detail the proposed solution, its alignment to the approved budget, and the amount to be withdrawn.

This treasury withdrawal funds the Cardano Global Listing Expansion initiative, a strategic proposal by the Snek Foundation to list SNEK on major centralized exchanges (CEXs), retail brokers, and other widely adopted platforms. SNEK is the largest community token on Cardano, holding the highest market capitalization, over 42,000 wallets, and more than 2 billion ADA in all-time trading volume. Over the past two years, the Snek Foundation has already invested over $4 million, entirely self funded, to secure major exchange listings. We’ve delivered the first and second ever Tier 1 listings for any Cardano native token, with Kraken and Crypto.com setting historic precedents for the ecosystem. These were not isolated wins, but the first step in a broader strategy to unlock global market access for Cardano. This proposal seeks 5,000,000 ADA to support top-tier exchange listings, liquidity provisioning, legal and compliance services, and strategic advisory oversight. These listings will not only increase SNEK adoption but also bring unprecedented visibility, liquidity, and user acquisition opportunities to the entire Cardano ecosystem. As part of the governance process, a Board of Advisors will be appointed to ensure transparent execution and maximize ecosystem alignment. This board will include high-profile industry veterans like Tal Cohen (former CEO of Kraken) and Phillip Pon (CEO of Emurgo), with additional top-tier names to be announced. SNEK is Cardano’s most adopted token, yet it remains underrepresented on major centralized exchanges, reflecting a broader lack of visibility for Cardano on mainstream platforms and among broader audiences. This underrepresentation doesn’t just affect SNEK. It weakens Cardano’s position in competitive markets and slows ecosystem-wide growth in four key areas: - ADA’s visibility and liquidity on global platforms - Cardano’s competitiveness in retail-driven market cycles - The discoverability of Cardano’s ecosystem by mainstream users - CNT adoption and the path for other tokens to reach similar success Cardano currently lacks a flagship token that drives liquidity, virality, and culture across exchange listings, just like DOGE, SHIBA, and PEPE do for Ethereum and Solana. SNEK has already shown it can fill this role; now it needs support to break through at scale.

This treasury withdrawal funds the Cardano Global Listing Expansion initiative, a strategic proposal by the Snek Foundation to list SNEK on major centralized exchanges (CEXs), retail brokers, and other widely adopted platforms. SNEK is the largest community token on Cardano, holding the highest market capitalization, over 42,000 wallets, and more than 2 billion ADA in all-time trading volume. Over the past two years, the Snek Foundation has already invested over $4 million, entirely self funded, to secure major exchange listings. We’ve delivered the first and second ever Tier 1 listings for any Cardano native token, with Kraken and Crypto.com setting historic precedents for the ecosystem. These were not isolated wins, but the first step in a broader strategy to unlock global market access for Cardano. This proposal seeks 5,000,000 ADA to support top-tier exchange listings, liquidity provisioning, legal and compliance services, and strategic advisory oversight. These listings will not only increase SNEK adoption but also bring unprecedented visibility, liquidity, and user acquisition opportunities to the entire Cardano ecosystem. As part of the governance process, a Board of Advisors will be appointed to ensure transparent execution and maximize ecosystem alignment. This board will include high-profile industry veterans like Tal Cohen (former CEO of Kraken) and Phillip Pon (CEO of Emurgo), with additional top-tier names to be announced. SNEK is Cardano’s most adopted token, yet it remains underrepresented on major centralized exchanges, reflecting a broader lack of visibility for Cardano on mainstream platforms and among broader audiences. This underrepresentation doesn’t just affect SNEK. It weakens Cardano’s position in competitive markets and slows ecosystem-wide growth in four key areas: - ADA’s visibility and liquidity on global platforms - Cardano’s competitiveness in retail-driven market cycles - The discoverability of Cardano’s ecosystem by mainstream users - CNT adoption and the path for other tokens to reach similar success Cardano currently lacks a flagship token that drives liquidity, virality, and culture across exchange listings, just like DOGE, SHIBA, and PEPE do for Ethereum and Solana. SNEK has already shown it can fill this role; now it needs support to break through at scale.