Cardano hands core development to outside teams in decentralization push
Cardano is transitioning its core development to independent teams as part of a long-term decentralization strategy. This move aims to distribute the maintenance of its software components while the network faces significant market challenges and low activity.
Why it matters
The shift represents a major governance experiment in the blockchain industry, attempting to move away from centralized control by the founding organization.
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.
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