• 29 April 2025
• |
• 05:47

Tensions are rising within the Cardano ecosystem as Charles Hoskinson pushes for major funding approval that could decide the network’s future direction — and potentially, the price trajectory of ADA itself.

During a weekend livestream, Hoskinson made it clear that continued progress hinges on the community backing a proposed budget package. If passed, the funding would secure Input Output Global (IOG)’s leadership in Cardano’s next growth phase, supporting over 150 engineers and critical research efforts. Without it, Hoskinson warned, the blockchain risks fragmentation and a slowdown in innovation.

According to Hoskinson, sustained investment could trigger major ecosystem expansion and push ADA’s price into the $3 to $10 range. The budget supports work on scaling technologies like state channels, roll-ups, interoperability improvements, and projects like the Mithril light client — all seen as essential for competing in an increasingly crowded blockchain landscape.

The Cardano treasury, which holds about 1.7 billion ADA, is constrained by a 350 million ADA spending cap set earlier this year. Within this limit, elected DReps must now decide whether to fund the full IOG roadmap or risk diluting the project’s momentum by backing smaller collectives like Pragma, TXPipe, or DC Spark.

Hoskinson also tackled criticisms about centralization, arguing that decentralization doesn’t mean rejecting leadership — it means communities must have the power to hire and replace their project stewards. Failure to act decisively, he suggested, could cost Cardano one of the strongest technical teams in crypto at a crucial moment.

If the funding proposal is rejected or significantly watered down, Hoskinson indicated that IOG would gradually pull back after completing the upcoming Leios upgrade, shifting focus toward other ventures like the Midnight privacy chain.

For ADA holders, the decision is imminent and stark: either invest in the current vision and leadership or accept a slower, more fragmented future.

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