With on-chain governance in full swing and the successful rollout of smart contracts for budget administration, Cardano’s governance action processes have brought a new level of transparency.

Although a true testament to the Cardano community’s collaboration, the governance action process continues to offer the community a way to make key decisions about the blockchain’s future.

Given this forward momentum, we decided to outline the governance actions Intersect is working on, and you can expect to see plumbed into the network by the end of this year. These are the currently planned actions; expect things to change.

Constitutional Committee context
We are aware that a member of the Constitutional Committee (CC), the Atlantic Council, has indicated their intention to resign from the CC on November 25. Under the current constitutional guardrails, the CC must comprise at least seven members. As a result, this resignation will temporarily pause governance actions that require CC approval. We are actively working with the Civics Committee and the broader community to consider how on-chain governance operations can be restored as soon as possible, with further updates to follow shortly.

New budgets for 2025: DigiFT and Wachsman

DigiFT and Wachsman have prepared two further budgets. Below, we outline what these new proposals aim to achieve.

DigiFT – a regulated RWA exchange and liquidity hub

DigiFT is a licensed institutional exchange for tokenised real‑world assets (RWAs).  The budget proposal seeks 6 million ada from the Cardano Treasury to develop and deploy a compliant RWA marketplace on the Cardano network.  

Key elements include:

• Institutional‑grade platform: DigiFT is regulated by Singapore’s Monetary Authority and holds an approval-in-principle from Hong Kong’s SFC.  It currently lists tokenised securities such as UBS’s uMINT money‑market fund and Invesco’s iSNR US Senior Bank Loan Fund.
• Deliverables: The budget proposes funding deployment of Plutus smart contracts for RWA issuance, mint/burn, subscription, and redemption; integration with Cardano’s USDA stablecoin for 1:1 subscriptions; creation of 24/7 institutional liquidity pools for instant redemption; and a compliant infrastructure stack with KYC/AML and security audits. 
• Motivation: Cardano currently trails other blockchains in total value locked and RWA adoption. DigiFT’s licences, partnerships, and multi‑chain experience can help by attracting institutional capital. The initiative aims to bridge traditional and decentralised finance, increase on‑chain transaction volumes, and provide real‑time liquidity for institutional assets.
• Desired ecosystem benefits: Increased TVL, direct access to institutional partners, and open‑source infrastructure for the Cardano community. 

Wachsman – a data‑driven communications blueprint

Cardano’s voice is often fragmented, and a cohesive communications strategy is needed to match our technology’s maturity.  Wachsman, a global communications firm with experience in Layer‑1 ecosystems, proposes a comprehensive program to build Cardano’s Communications Blueprint. The draft budget requests 3.6 million ada to execute a multi‑phase, data‑driven campaign (final allocation to be ratified by the community).

 The proposal outlines:

• Evidence‑based research: Phase 1 establishes an intelligence baseline, mapping how Cardano is perceived by developers, regulators, institutions, and the public.  It includes market and audience research, competitor benchmarking across blockchains like Ethereum and Solana, and sentiment analysis to identify misalignments and opportunities.
• Proof of perception: Phase 2 measures Cardano’s performance across media channels through proprietary brand health dashboards and competitive spokesperson resonance analysis.  These metrics provide ongoing visibility into share of voice, trust, and narrative penetration.
• Integrated communications engine: Phase 3 converts insights into action.  Wachsman will build a global press office and a coordinated communications engine that unifies narrative development, strategic media engagement, a thought‑leadership program, and spokesperson activation.  Campaigns will translate Cardano’s innovations into stories that resonate with developers, enterprises, and policymakers in different regions.
• Track record: Wachsman cites prior programs for other ecosystems, including a community campaign for Midnight that claimed over 2.4 billion NIGHT tokens across eight blockchains, demonstrating their ability to turn insights into impact.  

Budget committee: 2026 budget Framework

The Budget Committee has two governance actions in the works before year-end:

• 2026 Net Change Limit (NCL) – establishing the total amount of ada that can be withdrawn from the Treasury within a set period. The 2025 (current) NCL is set to expire at the end of epoch 604 in December 2025. Intersect will therefore submit a new NCL Info Action to ensure continuity and fiscal alignment for the upcoming budget cycle.
• Budget Process Framework 2026 Info Action – the draft Budget Process Framework 2026 introduces a clearer, more transparent, and data-driven approach to budgeting. It establishes standardized templates, structured review stages, and earlier access to consistent information, helping DReps make informed decisions while reducing complexity. Intersect is now working with members, DReps, and ecosystem stakeholders to refine the framework together before submitting the final proposal on-chain.

Product Committee: Establishing 2030 vision

Aiming to establish a long-term strategic direction for the Cardano ecosystem, supported by clear goals and measurable KPIs. 

The Product Committee has engaged broadly with ecosystem stakeholders to gather input and incorporate their feedback, ensuring the proposed vision reflects shared priorities and community consensus. The intention is to present this vision to the community and DReps for endorsement via an Info Governance Action, enabling alignment on Cardano’s collective path toward 2030.

Technical Steering Committee: Protocol development

The Technical Steering Committee (TSC) has pencilled in two governance actions.

• Raising Plutus Memory Limits – The Technical Steering Committee has ratified the recommendation from the Parameters Committee to increase the Block and Transaction Plutus Script memory Limits. For more information, please see Improving innovative contract capacity: Parameter updates enter Cardano testnet. The next step is to put this action on the mainnet.
• Hardfork Naming  Info Action – Following the precedent set for the Plomin hardfork, it is likely that the reforming Hardfork Working Group recommends to the TSC to submit an Info action to gain consensus for the naming of Cardano’s next hardfork. The hard fork itself is planned for early 2026.

Next Steps

Watch for the upcoming Governance Actions on-chain Review and provide feedback. 

If you’re a DRep or SPO, please be prepared to review and cast your votes. If you’re a delegator, confer with your SPO and/or DRep.