•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson said the network’s next phase will be shaped by elections, treasury funding, and the outcome of nine proposals now before the community. In a post on X, Hoskinson said the proposals are intended to help Cardano return to the top ten and move beyond, placing governance and execution at the center of the ecosystem’s near-term direction as decision-making shifts further toward community-led processes.
The remarks came as Input Output Global (IOG), the core development company behind much of Cardano’s technical work, asked the community to approve a reduced treasury budget for 2026. Reports say IOG submitted nine proposals totaling $46.8 million, or about 166 million ADA, to support operations and upgrades over the coming year. The requested amount is about 52% lower than the prior year’s request, reflecting a shift toward a more independent governance structure.
Hoskinson also said decentralization involves accepting both partial success and outright failure. He wrote that projects that succeed will be pursued, while those that fail will be shut down. The framing emphasized that the voting process is not only about allocating funds, but also about determining which parts of the Cardano roadmap the community wants to continue advancing.
Voting is taking place through Intersect, Cardano’s member-based governance organization. Reports say Delegate Representatives (DReps) can cast votes through the Ekklesia governance platform. The voting window runs from April 22 to May 24, 2026, with ratification expected shortly after the voting epoch closes.
Hoskinson noted that the next few months will be “an interesting time,” reflecting the stakes of the vote and the possibility that different voices could influence the direction chosen by the community.
The nine proposals are grouped around network scaling, Bitcoin integration, and developer and economic infrastructure. The largest and most closely watched item is Leios, a consensus upgrade intended to raise Cardano’s throughput by about 10 to 65 times and eventually support more than 1,000 transactions per second. Reports say a Leios testnet is scheduled for June 2026, with a mainnet launch candidate targeted by year-end.
Another major proposal is Pogun, aimed at bringing Bitcoin-based credit markets, yield tools, and trust-minimized bridge infrastructure into the Cardano ecosystem. Additional items include Babel Fees, which would allow users to pay transaction fees in native tokens instead of only ADA, along with revenue models intended to give developers more flexible economic options.
The broader package also includes work on Hydra and Midgard for layer-2 scaling, upgrades to the Plutus smart contract environment, new developer tools such as cardano-init, higher-assurance verification systems, core maintenance and security monitoring, and expanded API and data services. Taken together, the proposals link the push toward the top ten to throughput, usability, security, and broader ecosystem access rather than to a single upgrade.
As the governance process moves forward, ADA price action is also drawing attention. Market details provided in the article say Cardano has started to build higher lows after bouncing from the $0.23 area.
Analysts cited in the report said reclaiming the $0.25 to $0.26 range remains important for confirming stronger short-term control by buyers. If ADA clears that area, the next resistance zone is around $0.265 to $0.27, where selling pressure may increase again. A breakout above that band could open the way toward a liquidity area near $0.28 to $0.30.
On the downside, the report said failure to hold recent recovery levels would leave the token vulnerable to another test of lower support.
Premium gym chains are entering a “golden era” that is ending or already in decline, as rising operating costs collide with shifting consumer preferences toward more flexible, community-based ways to exercise. Long-term memberships are shrinking, margins are pressured by higher rents and facility expenses, and competition from smaller, more personalized…
