Cardano hands core development to outside teams in decentralization push

Cardano developer Input Output is handing control of core blockchain infrastructure to outside teams, reducing the network’s dependence on the company that built it, Input Output announced Friday.

Input Output said the handover is the next phase of Cardano’s decentralization. It covers Cardano’s Haskell node, Plutus smart-contract platform, Daedalus wallet, Hydra scaling technology and developer relations.

Specialist companies include Se7en Labs, a development agency specializing in Solana blockchain infrastructure, and Teragone, a specialist software development and cryptographic research team that leads the development of Mithril, a stake-based signature protocol for the Cardano blockchain. Both will take responsibility for some of the components. The handover will begin in August and continue into 2027.

Cardano has already moved protocol decisions and governance to its community. Input Output said the next step is to spread responsibility for developing and maintaining the software.

“The last stage of the Voltaire era is full decentralization of node and reference blueprint development,” Input Output CEO and Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson said in the statement.

The plan calls for independent teams to maintain at least three Cardano implementations written in Haskell, Rust and Go. Member organizations including Intersect and Pragma will oversee formal specifications, with development subject to community review and voting.

Input Output will focus more of its work on research and new ventures through IO Labs and IO Ventures.

The announcement comes as Cardano faces weak network activity, with just $70 million in TVL compared to rival chains like Tron and Solana that boast more than $4 billion respectively. There has also been a sharp decline in the value of its native token. ADA was trading at about 16 cents Friday, almost 95% below its September 2021 record of $3.10.

Hoskinson recently acknowledged the problems facing the network and said further setbacks would be part of its development. The Cardano founder said he had warned earlier this year that the deteriorating market conditions would see many projects shuttering.

“Even Cardano has to go through growing pains that are very uncomfortable,” he said in a video. “Bones have to be broken. Growth spurts have to happen. Exits and entrances. Failures have to occur to build confidence in the system.”

Hoskinson said Cardano needs more specialized teams to set targets and direct resources. He also acknowledged that the network has stopped expanding.