There’s been a lot of debate on the proposed 350M ADA Net Change Limit (NCL) to set a maximum cap for Cardano Treasury withdrawals.
Not to mention, with 477M ADA requested in proposals, many DReps might be wondering:
Where do I even start?
Here’s our take below to make it easier for DReps and the community to take action.
First, a big thank you to all DReps and the community.
We’re all navigating a complex, decentralized governance process for the first time – all on our own time.
We understand this, and that’s why we believe it’s important to offer some key tips and things to consider to help you save precious time.
Yes—477M ADA in proposals, with a likely 350M ADA withdrawal threshold, may sound confusing.
Clearly, the Cardano budget seems to be oversubscribed.
This is actually a good thing, demonstrating that there are many builders eager to expand our community.
However, by applying a few considerations, the proposals worth reviewing can be much fewer than anticipated.
Here are some things to consider:
Look for an overlap in scope or nearly identical proposals.
Some proposals are very similar in scope.
For instance, the IOG and Intersect TSC Core Budget proposals have comparable deliverables.
In these cases, DReps may want to select only one to avoid duplicate spending.
We’re not telling you how to vote, but to make our position clear, EMURGO supports IOG in this case.
Review them and then vote for the one that you feel delivers the most value.
We’ve identified more than 200M ADA asked for in nearly identical, competing proposals.
Assuming a DRep votes for only one of them, this would open up an additional 100M+ ADA.
Assess the consolidated Growth & Marketing Committee (GMC) proposal vs. individual proposals.
The GMC proposal above includes a variety of marketing initiatives or “workstreams.”
If you evaluate them to be valuable, approve of the proposal as a whole.
However, each initiative has also been submitted individually.
Therefore, voting for both the GMC and the individual proposals could result in a spending overlap of the budget.
Please review carefully and choose one or the other.
For example, here are some of the individual proposals that are also covered in the GMC budget:
- Unified Global Events Marketing Strategy for Cardano: https://gov.tools/budget_discussion/389
- 2025 Marketing Program Management, Reporting & Measurement: https://gov.tools/budget_discussion/529
Remember — Project Catalyst is also still an option.
Many proposals ask for under 500K ADA.
Assess whether these might be ideal candidates for @Catalyst_onX instead, which itself has applied for 69M+ ADA, and is a suitable ground for delivering smaller grants.
With 60M ADA earmarked across 3 funding rounds in 2025, there’s plenty of room to accommodate the necessary funding for such proposals.
Looking at proposals requesting more than 500K ADA can also help you focus on some of the core initiatives.
If DReps:
- Avoid reviewing proposals under <500K ADA.
- Pick only one proposal among similar ones.
- Apply additional reviewing criteria.
Then, the final budget to review should come down to a much more manageable amount. By applying these considerations, the 477M ADA up for review is reduced to around 350M ADA.
Naturally, not all proposed budgets will be approved, and we encourage DReps to apply their own filters and criteria.
We hope that these tips can help you to better navigate the complexity of voting for the first time and contribute to a sustainable, decentralized Cardano.
To sum up:
- The NCL is likely to be set at 350M ADA.
- Proposals total 477M ADA, but Catalyst can also be an option for many of these.
- Think about focusing on proposals requesting more than 500K ADA.
- Choose only one proposal if there are duplicate or similar proposals.
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Disclaimer
You should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. Nothing contained herein shall constitute a solicitation, recommendation, endorsement, or offer by EMURGO to invest.
