Dear Cardano community...
What happened to us? 😓
Why do so many people feel defeated?
Why has frustration turned into hostility?
Why has disappointment become anger?
I get it.
I've been here for years too.
I've invested my time, my energy, my reputation, my money, my passion... just like many of you.
When you've dedicated years to something you believe in, watching projects shut down, seeing friends leave, and watching the price fall hurts.
It makes you question whether all those years meant anything at all.
Recently we've seen major ecosystem projects close, respected builders move on, and sentiment reach one of its lowest points in years. The pain and frustration that people feel are real.
But eventually, every one of us reaches the same crossroads.
There are only two paths.
You leave...
Or you keep building.
If you decide to leave, I genuinely wish you the best. And I appreciate all the effort and time you invested. Every grain of sand counts!
Take with you everything Cardano gave you.
The people you met.
The knowledge you gained.
The skills you developed.
The friendships you built.
The lessons you learned.
Those things are real.
No market can take them away.
But please...
Don't leave carrying and spreading hate.
Don't attack the people who choose to stay and put a ton of their free time into adding more grains of sand.
Because you know exactly how they feel.
You were once that person too.
They're putting in late nights.
They're sacrificing time with family.
They're taking risks.
They're believing in something bigger than themselves.
They don't deserve extra weight on their shoulders.
And if you're staying...
Thank you.
Let's remember why we're here.
We all want the same thing.
More builders.
More users.
More partnerships.
More real-world adoption.
More TVL.
More innovation.
A stronger Cardano.
We're on the same team.
The price is down.
Yes.
But hate won't raise it.
Fighting each other won't raise it.
Mocking builders, Dreps, SPOs, and creators won't raise it.
Celebrating failures won't raise it.
Refusing to collaborate won't raise it.
Communities don't die because they go through difficult times.
They die when they stop supporting and believing in each other. ❤️
How can we fix this? 🥹
UPDATE: #Cardano $ADA Founder Charles Hoskinson on potentially acquiring TapTools, says "we're in contact with the team, we have been for a while. We'll see what their expectations are, and what they want to do. A lot of people could potentially absorb them."
UPDATE: George @CryptosR_Us says "I would actually like to take over TapTools, I reached out, and I think I can revitalize it in a big way. If anyone is watching from TapTools, hopefully they will reach out." #Cardano $ADA
Four major engineering feats Cardano accomplished in the blockchain space:
✅ Layer 2 scaling capable of 1 MILLION TPS
✅ Proof of Stake self healing Nakamoto Consensus
✅ Full on-chain governance by the Ada Holders
✅ Privacy with selective disclosure
Huge thanks to @IOGroup 🫡
After reflecting deeply on this governance process, a few things are clearer to me than ever.
Cardano is alive. The community is engaged. And that matters more than any single vote.
But this process has shown me something important: Cardano's governance is real. You are not passive holders. You are owners. That is exactly what we built this for.
It has also reminded me that when Cardano has needed it most, the Pentad delivered. IOG, EMURGO, the Cardano Foundation, Midnight Foundation, and Intersect have proven they can coordinate and bring critical integrations to life when the ecosystem needed it. That coordination layer matters now more than ever.
So let me show up the way I should.
I will be in Singapore for the Cardano Summit and I will be on stage. I am also personally committing to partially top up our Token2049 sponsorship to Title level. Being on that main stage is where Cardano and Midnight need to be heard.
To the Pentad, I am inviting all of you to sit down and have a real conversation about the future of governance and how we formalise this coordination going forward.
I am 100% focused on Cardano and Midnight. Always have been. Let me prove it. #strongertogether
I have given my heart and soul to Cardano over the past years, late nights, weekends, time. I have two young daughters, with another on the way.
I won't give up on Cardano, I won't be bullied out of Cardano, and I will absolutely now ramp up my efforts on Cardano.
The show, goes on, and we are a decentralized community, where every voice matters, we are united, we are together, we are equal.
WE are Cardano.
So politicians can campaign and waste billions of dollars trying to sway voters into their favor in the name of Democracy but if a Blockchain Founder who literally builds a system for Democracy empowering the public over himself tries to express his concern with how voting is going over much needed funds, explaining the potential disturbances of said voting if it were to remain, they suddenly are Blackmailers?
As a Drep, someone responsible for bringing countless people and other influencers into the Cardano ecosystem and being a bag holder myself, I of course care very much about how treasury funds are distributed, how its used and the processes associated with these practices. There are certainly changes that need to be made overall, over time of which I'm sure will happen as institutions continue accumulating, launching new investment vehicles and continue taking power away from the every day lamens that sell their bags on FUD induced by competing chains, bots and other influences affecting the overall sentiment of Cardano in this bearish market cycle.
As I see it, Cardano is just now starting to come into its own in a sea of build fast/break things and buy the narrative. Cardano was built for the very use cases in growing demand today beyond just defi and gimmicks. Interoperability, identity, compliant transactions, etc are all major needs growing exponentially and as they demands are met by the tech that is Cardano and Midnight, more major whales and players will be taking a more active approach in the governance of the ecosystem and rightfully so.
Sadly, too many people who have never started or ran a company before are trying to dictate what a major L1 blockchain should be or should not be doing with their funds out of fear that their bags, already down due to the transition from Tradfi to Defi is happening in front of our eyes is also causing confusion in the alt coin space and thus creating levels of fear I've not seen since 2017. Too many people are treating this bearish cycle like Ganggreen and opting to cut out the heart in hopes of saving the body, not realizing that this shakeout of retail is by design and even after all of these years of IOG coming through (even while late often) and while learning from mistakes made that get adjusted for over time aren't doing everything possible to benefit us all.
The truth is, we are reaching record high Whale accumulation for a reason. Retail doesn't get it while institutions are loving it and I dont believe it will be much longer before these groups show themselves and begin taking internal steps at affecting major change in the voting processes and we begin seeing Dreps with voting power into the billions as the rest of us then begin barking at how flawed the system is for allowing such a thing to happen, as the next narrative induced by whomever fears the growth of Cardano. Quite frankly, I embrace it even if that means reducing the power of my own Drep status in the process.
Their either needs to be MANY more Dreps in positions of authority, or more educated institutions that utilize Cardano and Midnight and use their accumulations of both to affect more wisdom and less toxicity into the Treasury voting processes.
Now is the time to build and prepare harder than ever as we embark on historical changes to Tradfi and the Blockchain space. I understand many of the arguments such as "stop bundling what appears wasteful with what is useful to force favorable voting", welcome to politics. There is no other blockchain designed through its research and peer review to be more in line with the needs of today as those needs change and expand into the needs of tomorrow and that is because of the Heart of Cardano and its arms and legs that are Midnight.
I really believe everyone needs to calm down some and look back on what has been accomplished, how these two chains are primed for what is coming and have some faith that not only does the anonymous troll on your wall with 200 followers doesn't have a clue what they are talking about but that the hundreds of engineers across the country, do and they need to keep active and making the progress necessary to STAY AHEAD of everyone else without letting those now trying to emulate what Cardano and Midnight has done, catch up. This is OUR time to be first to market with something the world actually needs and I'll be damned if I let this opportunity slip past me over funds that wont matter anyway if we lose our positioning. That's all I have to say. Be well and Crow Your Coins.
The window to lead on digital assets won’t stay open forever. Europe isn’t waiting—and neither is China.
I’ve spent years building the Clarity Act so America doesn’t have to play catch up. We must act now.
I’ll say this again: $NIGHT adds more to Cardano’s ecosystem than people realize.
It doesn’t take away from Cardano.
It gives the ecosystem another lane to grow.