Charles Hoskinson urged Cardano delegate representatives to approve a research funding proposal on Wednesday, warning that voting no could damage the network's identity as a research-led blockchain. Speaking in a May 21 livestream from England, Hoskinson said Cardano is in 'treasury season' with a tighter funding environment — and that some DReps are showing a 'disturbing trend' of opposing money for the research group he calls the network's 'spine and backbone.'
Treasury season and tighter budgets
The ecosystem is asking for about $52 million in funding this year, down sharply from roughly $98 million last year. Cuts have already hit engineers and community teams. Hoskinson framed the current request as lean but essential, noting that Cardano has spent hundreds of millions of dollars over a decade to build what he says is the largest research group in cryptocurrencies. That group covers proof-of-stake, the eUTXO model, Plutus, sidechains, and Bitcoin DeFi.
A 'disturbing trend' among DReps
Hoskinson specifically called out a pattern he's seeing: some DReps voting against funding Cardano's research arm. He argued the research group is the 'spine and backbone' of the network. Critics of the proposal have said research funding should be broken into smaller pieces. Hoskinson rejected that idea bluntly, asking which scientists or institutions they would fire or shut down. The academic ties include Stanford, the University of Edinburgh, the University of Wyoming, and others — ties Hoskinson said are not easily replaced.
What losing researchers would mean
Hoskinson warned that Cardano's researchers could be recruited by better-funded rival ecosystems. Losing them, he said, is a 'one-way door' that cannot be reversed. Without its research advantage, Cardano would have to lean on metrics like monthly active users, total value locked, or transaction volume to make its investment case — a shift Hoskinson clearly sees as a downgrade. ADA traded at $0.2499 at press time, roughly flat on the day.
