IO Global Files Reduced Cardano Treasury Plan for 2026

TLDR

• IO Global submitted nine treasury proposals for 2026 to support Cardano’s Leios scaling roadmap.
• The company requested just under 50% of the funding it sought last year.
• Voting on the Cardano treasury proposals will remain open until May 24.
• Leios is expected to enter testnet in June with a mainnet launch planned by late 2026.
• IO Global projected a 10% to 65% throughput increase under the Leios upgrade.

Input Output Global has filed nine treasury proposals for 2026 as it prepares the Leios scaling rollout. The company said it seeks just under 50% of last year’s funding request. Voting remains open until May 24, while the roadmap centers on Leios testnet progress and a planned 2026 mainnet launch.

Cardano Treasury Request Targets Core Upgrades

Input Output Global detailed nine proposals tied to core infrastructure, developer tools, and economic changes. The firm said its combined request equals just under 50% of the prior year’s ask. It confirmed that community voting will remain open through May 24.

The roadmap aligns with its 2030 Vision for network growth and higher transaction capacity. The consensus proposal stated, “Cardano must scale from today’s approximately 800,000 transactions per month to over 27 million.” It added that “Leios is the mechanism purpose-built to get there.”

IO Global expects Leios to enter testnet in June and plans mainnet deployment by late 2026. However, its public tracker shows development in mid-stage, with testnet progress near 24%. Specifications appear largely complete, while testing continues toward broader validation.

The company projected a 10x to 65x throughput increase under the Leios upgrade. It said the change will preserve Cardano’s existing consensus mechanism. IO linked the scaling effort to support for DeFi, real-world assets, and enterprise use cases.

Layer 2 and Developer Reforms Expand Roadmap

IO Global placed Layer 2 initiatives within the broader scaling plan and named Hydra and Midgard rollup. The proposal stated that “only with both does Cardano have a credible L2 story.” It positioned the two systems as complementary components of the network’s expansion.

The company also requested 62.1 million ADA for ongoing network maintenance and operations. It valued the amount at over $15.8 million based on current market prices. IO said the funds will support node upgrades, monitoring tools, and security systems.

Several proposals addressed developer experience and onboarding challenges within the ecosystem. IO described the current environment as “fragmented” and said it deters growth. A six-month initiative will streamline tooling and reduce onboarding costs.

Internal research showed many developers leave due to high setup demands and unclear processes. One proposal aims to expand formal verification across smart contract development. IO said it will improve Plutus tooling so users avoid “a PhD and three months of setup.”

Other measures focus on user interaction and new economic functions within the protocol. Planned upgrades include “Babel Fees,” which would allow transaction fees in tokens other than ADA. The company also proposed wallet-based micro-fees to create fresh revenue streams.

A separate proposal called Pogun targets bitcoin liquidity within the ecosystem. The document described BTC as “the world’s most valuable digital asset” that remains “almost entirely idle.” IO said Cardano could serve as a credit and yield layer for that capital.