The Cardano Foundation is happy to announce the launch of a new Catalyst pilot fund in August 2026, with a total grant pool of two million ada.
A key goal of the pilot is to connect ecosystem innovation with some of the most recent Cardano integrations, such as USDCx, Pyth, or Dune.
What is the scope of the pilot?
This new Catalyst round will support early-stage projects and ventures that close ecosystem gaps to drive innovation and transaction activity across Cardano.
Catalyst will look for submissions leveraging at least one or more of the following:
- Pyth,
- Brale (assuming availability when the fund launches),
- stablecoins (USDCx or Cardano native),
- programmable tokens,
- on-chain identity.
Focusing on these recent integrations kickstarts their adoption across Cardano. It also gives existing builders additional resources to improve their offerings.
The evaluation will further favour submissions that integrate with existing Cardano ecosystem DApps and leverage existing Dune dashboards.
The pilot’s approach
As we make significant progress in delivering current Catalyst funds (10 to 14), we have also been looking into how to evolve and streamline the program in the future. Running a pilot allows for a smaller, more focused fund that tests a streamlined operation and simultaneously provides support to Cardano builders on an expedited timeline. The tradeoff is that the pilot will use a simplified community expert curation model, in place of the multi-stage public voting of previous full funds. More information will come soon.
For now, the pilot will be resourced entirely through undistributed ada from previous funds, which have become available due to grantees either withdrawing from the program or not reaching their goals. While this limits the scope and duration of the fund, it actually allows us to move quickly and without requiring treasury funding for the pilot.
The new fund reaffirms Catalyst’s goal to be a space for ideas that supports builders and rewards long-term contributions. Ultimately, the Foundation hopes to rebuild Catalyst as a leaner and more focused program that delivers sustainable growth.
The Future of Project Catalyst
We want to preserve the nature of Catalyst as a place for active community involvement while providing the best possible value for Cardano.
Once the new pilot is in full swing, we plan to expand on the longer-term strategy for Catalyst. We will share more details soon.
In the meantime, we welcome feedback regarding the pilot. Please leave us your comments in the section below.
We look forward to working with the community and supporting the Cardano builders.