While I agree with many of your latter points regarding improvements to how pledge, leverage and min pool cost should be handled I am not in agreement with your points about transparency and accountability for the Cardano Foundation (CF). Let’s not forget that these entities were entrusted with funds raised during a public ICO—roughly $62 million back in 2017. This wasn’t private investment money; it came from a broad community of contributors, mostly in Japan, with the understanding that these funds would drive Cardano’s development, growth, and its decentralized vision. With that responsibility comes an obligation to maintain high levels of accountability and transparency.
The roles of these entities were clear from the outset. IOHK (now IOG) was tasked with building the technology, Emurgo was meant to focus on commercial adoption and business development, and CF was to oversee governance, promote the Cardano ecosystem, and engage with the community. These are complementary roles, and their execution is crucial to the success of Cardano.
However, the delegation practices of CF are raising some serious questions. Delegation policies are supposed to reflect the ecosystem’s decentralization goals, yet the perception among many is that CF’s delegation program disproportionately favors certain operators—often larger, established pools. This isn’t just about fairness; it’s about maintaining trust within the community. When CF’s actions seem to contradict Cardano’s decentralization principles, it damages the credibility of the platform as a whole.
One way CF could address this is by being more transparent about how they select pools for delegation. Publishing detailed audits and clear criteria for their decision-making process would go a long way in rebuilding trust. Delegation is a powerful tool for supporting smaller pools and fostering decentralization, but if it’s not handled equitably, it risks creating an uneven playing field.
Lastly, there’s the broader context of ICO accountability. These funds were raised with a specific purpose: to build a decentralized ecosystem. If there’s a perception that any of the founding entities are acting in ways that conflict with that purpose, it’s understandable that people would question their governance. The community deserves regular updates on how funds are being used, what progress is being made, and how decisions align with Cardano’s mission.
Oh I should make it clear that this is not a case of sour grapes as I never applied for any delegation like many small SPO’s as they know they are extremely unlikely to ever be selected but I have followed the selection process over the years and I do beleive that many disgruntled SPO’s (not all) have had some valid points with regards to the selection process