Cardano Makes History: 73.93% of Community Votes Fuel First-Ever Crowdfunded Roadmap

Cardano just flipped the script on blockchain governance—with nearly three-quarters of its community backing a radical experiment in decentralized funding.

The verdict? A landslide 73.93% vote catapults ADA into uncharted territory: the first major crypto project to let token holders directly bankroll its future.

No more shadowy dev funds or VC backroom deals—just pure, uncut democracy. (Well, until the whales wake up and realize they can outvote everyone.)

This isn’t just a roadmap—it’s a middle finger to traditional finance’s gatekeepers. Banks take years to approve budgets. Cardano’s community greenlit theirs before Wall Street’s coffee break.

One catch? Now they actually have to deliver.

• Cardano community directly approved core development funding for the first time.
• IO Engineering secured 73.93% support to lead protocol upgrades from the treasury.
• Roadmap introduces major performance, scalability, and governance advancements.

Cardano has achieved a significant governance milestone as the community, for the first time, voted in favor of funding the treasury for Core development. Input Output Engineering’s roadmap received 73.93% votes in favor in the on-chain vote, progressing towards community decision-making and reiterating faith in the decentralized future of Cardano.

Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson received the update positively through a message to the ADA community. This is after the Chang and Plomin upgrades that had paved the way for decentralized governance, in addition to providing for the treasury to operate based on community control.

Thank you everyone for your support and trust. Let's get it done. https://t.co/Z7cAbWhg54

Roadmap Includes Major Technical Advancements

With the green light from the community, IOE is now set to deliver a series of major upgrades. One of the biggest is Ouroboros Leios, which is designed to increase transaction throughput while maintaining decentralization and security. Hydra will improve transaction speed and lower costs, perfect for smaller, faster payments.

Other upgrades include Mithril improvements that reduce sync time and make lightweight clients easier to use. Nested transactions will allow for more advanced smart contracts and smooth interaction between different apps and chains.

Cardano’s node is also getting an overhaul. Project Acropolis will break it into modules, making it easier for new developers to contribute. Meanwhile, performance improvements will lower RAM usage and syncing time, which helps stake pool operators manage costs and run more efficiently.

Smart Contracts to Govern Cardano Treasury Payouts

Fund distributions will occur through milestone releases, governed by Intersect, the member-based governance body. Delivery milestones will be reviewed by a specialized committee. Payments will occur using smart contracts, with strict compliance and no room for discretionary release.

Transparency is another cornerstone. IOE shall issue monthly reports, engineering diaries, and quarterly expenditure reports. These reports shall contain real-time information about the expenditure of the treasury funds.

To decentralize even further, IOE is set to cooperate with developers from outside the protocol, specifically the members of the Cardano Developer Ecosystem Coalition.

In co-development as well as in knowledge-sharing, cardano is looking to build up a self-sustaining, open-source ecosystem whose further developments are steered by a broader group of developers.