Cardano targets major scale-up with 2026 Leios upgrade

Input Output Global submitted nine treasury proposals for 2026, seeking less than 50% of last year’s funding and focusing on the Leios upgrade to scale Cardano. Voting is open until May 24.

Input Output Global has submitted nine treasury proposals for 2026, requesting just under 50% of last year’s funding. The proposals focus on the Leios network-scaling upgrade for Cardano, which is central to the new roadmap. Key priorities include core infrastructure, developer tooling, and innovative economic models. The Leios upgrade aims to boost Cardano’s throughput by 10 to 65 times, targeting a jump from 800,000 to over 27 million transactions per month by 2030. Leios is expected to enter testnet in June, with a mainnet launch planned by the end of 2026. Currently, development is at the mid-stage, with testnet progress at about 24%. The roadmap also features improvements to Layer 2 solutions like Hydra and the Midgard rollup. The proposals emphasize visible mainnet progress, governance accountability, and disciplined execution. Community voting is open until May 24, with over $15.8 million allocated for network maintenance and upgrades. This shift marks a more focused approach, redirecting resources from halted projects to tangible network advancements.