Welcome to the Cardano Community Digest!
Published by the Cardano Foundation Community Team every two weeks, this Digest will provide you with news, updates and events about the project and ecosystem!
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In this edition of the Community Digest, we highlight Cardano’s 8th birthday, featuring community reflections on its journey from Byron to Voltaire. We spotlight recent Roundtable Talks on Fund14 voting frameworks, Cardano Vision 2030, and the in-person Table Talk at Rare Evo, discussing Cardano’s culture. Also featured are the 2025 Summit Awards with voting now open, a Developer Spotlight on IAGON, Fund14 voting updates with the new generalized quadratic voting, and the Cardano Foundation’s latest roadmap, identity tech, and educational initiatives. All this and more in today’s Digest.
Additionally, we’d like to inform you that cardano.org/news serves as a central hub, routing ecosystem information directly to you. Community members can contribute by providing their own updates. For more information on how to contribute, visit cardano.org/docs
Cardano Celebrates Its 8th Birthday
Last week, Cardano celebrated its 8th Birthday, and that has surely not gone by unnoticed.
From the minting of the first genesis block on September 23, 2017, to today’s journey across Byron, Shelley, Goguen, Basho, and now Voltaire, Cardano has grown into one of the most decentralized, research-driven, and sustainable blockchains in the world. Governance is now coming fully on-chain, placing the community at the center of decision-making.
But what truly sets Cardano apart is its outstanding community, builders, creators, holders, stake pool operators, DReps, and traders who have fueled eight years of progress with zero downtime.
Community voices on X captured the spirit:
- @LaPetiteADA: “I’m not here for the cake, I’m here for decentralization, peer-reviewed tech, governance, community, and 100% uptime.”
- @NucastIO: “This is 8! We all ate cake for Cardano.”
- @andre0413_: “Happy 8th Birthday Cardano! You made your maker proud!”
- @shane0mac0: “8 years old now no longer a kid, but a full-blown movement.”
- @cryptocom: “Cheers to $ADA. Clean code, big dreams, and a global squad. Proof-of-stake never looked so good. Happy 8th birthday, @Cardano!”
For a full look back at Cardano’s journey, from the first block to the first trade, check out @Cardano’s anniversary thread.
Here’s to many more years of innovation, governance, and global impact with Cardano at the helm!
Community Roundtable Talks
Last week we hosted two Roundtable Talks that brought valuable perspectives from across the ecosystem.
On Monday, September 22, we sat down for Roundtable Talk #21: Community Expertise in Action: Frameworks and Selections for Catalyst F14 Voting – Part 1. At the table were Ahmed Amer, James Meidinger, Jose Velasquez, Matthieu Pizenberg, Nicolas Cerny, Rodrigo Pacini, and Yoram Ben-Zvi. The discussion focused on how the above-mentioned subject-matter experts developed frameworks, curated shortlists, and practical approaches to strengthen Fund 14 voting. Having the table members share their approach to reviewing Catalyst proposals allowed them to provide structured recommendations for the Community, alongside reflections on the new Catalyst Representative Pilot.
On Wednesday, September 24, Roundtable Talk #22 explored Cardano Vision 2030. Joined by Christina Gianelloni, James Meidinger (BlockJock), Ken Erik, Kriss Baird, Kyle Solomon, and Raphael Christian-Roy. The conversation touched on revenue challenges and how to support entrepreneurs, as well as the role of accessibility through mobile apps and easier onboarding. Overall, the theme was why Cardano needs to exist and the qualities that will matter most in the years ahead.
Additionally, at Rare Evo 2025, we hosted an in-person Roundtable Talk to explore what makes Cardano more than a protocol—its culture. The discussion highlighted conviction and integrity in building a decentralized future, the creative energy of builders and creators, and the open-mindedness needed to tackle challenges like multi-chain integration. Big thanks to Jenny Brito, Lily Brodi, Logan Panchot, and Michael Yagi for sharing their perspectives on Cardano’s core values. You can rewatch the session here: YouTube link
Cardano Summit 2025 Awards: Voting is Open
The 2025 Cardano Summit Awards celebrate the people and projects powering our ecosystem — from SPOs and developers to DEXs, stablecoins, ambassadors, governance champions, and more, across twelve categories. Voting via the Cardano Ballot is open now to all ADA holders and closes 15 October — it’s your chance to back the contributions you value most.
If you haven’t registered yet, do so now at summit.cardano.org (tickets can also be purchased using ada). Winners will be announced live in Berlin, 12–13 November 2025.
Developer Spotlight: IAGON
We recently sat down with Navjit Dhaliwal, founder and CEO of IAGON, to talk about how his platform is reshaping decentralized storage and computing.
Navjit shared how IAGON puts data control back in the hands of users, why the team moved from Ethereum to Cardano, and how enterprises like Hamburg Volksbank and CloudCourt are already benefiting from secure, sovereign data solutions. Using simple analogies, he explained how decentralized storage turns a single vulnerable “lake” into many protected “frozen lakes,” and how idle machines around the world can form a global supercomputer.
Curious to see how IAGON is transforming the way we manage data? Dive into the full interview here.
Project Catalyst: Fund14 Voting Is Open
The Catalyst Voting Festival is in full swing, and the team is firing on all cylinders! What’s so exciting this time? For the first time ever, a new generalized quadratic voting function is being applied at the tally. This means individual wallets carry more weight than ever before. The team is pioneering new ways of decision-making at the cutting edge of what’s possible.
For all the details, check out the newsletter from the Catalyst team: https://forum.cardano.org/t/catalyst-weekly-124-fund14-voting-is-open/149726/
Updates from the Cardano Foundation
The Cardano Foundation has released a series of updates this week, ranging from its strategic roadmap to identity tech and education.
The Foundation unveiled its refreshed roadmap, featuring major moves such as injecting ADA liquidity into DeFi, expanding Web3 & RWA integrations, and scaling its Venture Hub (among other priorities). CEO Frederik Gregaard also shared a post marking the “ringing on the London Stock Exchange,” linked to the roadmap and its RWA ambitions.
Linda Roland, operator of the Maluiin Pool, recently highlighted the Foundation’s roadmap in one of her highly appreciated and educational videos. View here: X post. The update was also covered in a recent article by cexplorer.io.
Meanwhile, the Let’s Talk Cardano episode; “The Future of Decentralized Identity with Veridian”, delves into its new identity platform built on KERI/ACDC tech, discussing quantum resistance, identity-public key separation, and how Cardano anchors trust. Read more here.
On the education front, the Foundation launched a “Cardano Fundamentals” course via Binance Academy, available free to ~44 million users. The curriculum includes Cardano’s architecture, consensus, DeFi/Web3 use cases, governance, and more. See the full announcement here.
Cardano Reddit Top 10 Most Engaged Topics
Below are the most engaging topics on Reddit
- Cardano Fundamentals is now live on Binance Academy
- Are we still going for number one?
- Cardano Foundation Announces Updated Roadmap
- Billions of transactions are coming. The question is: will they happen on Cardano?
- Cardano News: $ADA ETF?
Wins of the Week #39 - cattle daddy media - What the Foundation’s New Roadmap Means for the Blockchain Race (article)
- Build the future at the Cardano Summit Hackathon — $30K in prizes
- Building enterprise adoption for Cardano
- Cardano Yield should Increase
- Iagon on Cardano - The Decentralized Cloud Revolution
Cardano Forum Top 9 Referred Topics
Topics that have received the most clicks from external sources. (last 10 Days)
- Catalyst Weekly #124: Fund14 Voting Is Open!
- Catalyst Fund 14: Spotlight on Enterprise Adoption
- Fund 14 Assessments Through a Governance Lens
- Distributed Decision Making - List of proposals endorsed by Rodrigo
- Fund 14 - Partner & Product category ELKsconnect Enterprise adoption
- Cardano Foundation Roadmap
- Top Four (4) Picks For The Intersect Board Elections
- Eternl demands 24 words when verifying 15-word Yoroi wallet recovery phrase
- Laugh, Learn, and Navigate: The Unconventional Guide to Cardano!
Upcoming Community Events
- 09-30 Snek Den: Singapore: In partnership with EMURGO and the Cardano Foundation, SNEK, the largest token in the Cardano ecosystem, enters Asia with a private, curated gathering. - Luma Registration link
- 09-30 The Cardano Happy Hour: Join us for a night of light eats, free beverages, live entertainment, networking, and celebration at The NCO Club proudly hosted by Rare Network & sponsored by Cardano! - Luma Registration link
- 09-30 SanchoNet Education Network: Atelier Gouvernance Cardano en Français - Google Meet link
- 10-01 Token2049 Singapore: more information
- 10-04 Cardano Governance Workshop, hosted by Input | Output: The workshops are intended to reflect on progress so far, continue conversations about the 2026 Budget Process, delegating authority and exploring the biggest governance challenges for Cardano - Luma Registration Link
- 10-07 Tech for Impact Summit 2025: By Socious and Tech for Impact Summit steering committee
Japan - More Info
For more weekly events, visit Cardano Events
Many thanks and greetings from the Community Team!