Voter registration is now open for Project Catalyst, our bold experiment in community innovation and governance
Bringing true decentralization to Cardano means more than transferring the power of block creation to stake pool operators. Crucial decisions about development and growth must be put to ada holders. Furthermore, they need access to funding to turn great ideas into reality.
Now, after several months of inspiring innovation, it is time to register and prepare to cast ballots for proposals in Fund2.
Project Catalyst is our bold experiment in community collaboration, introducing the power of on-chain governance to Cardano. Over the last four months, we have built a global community like no other. From a standing start on September 16th, we have assembled an international community of 3,647 community members around this bold vision. We have challenged the Cardano community to come up with proposals to help grow the Cardano ecosystem over the next six months.
Entrepreneurs and podcasters, marketing experts, students, and stake pool operators – have all answered the Catalyst call, from all over the world. After a process of community refinement and robust debate on our innovation platform IdeaScale, over 70 ideas have come out the other side.
Today, we are opening up for Catalyst community members to register to vote on the proposals for Fund2. This experimental voting process is the first time that we will be opening voting to everyone. Hear the full lowdown from the town hall.
Each team will now be ‘campaigning’ for a share of that ada fund to develop and deliver on their proposal. Any ada holder can vote in Fund2. If you have a balance of 8,000 ada or more, and you would like to cast your ballot on the proposals in Fund2, you can find all the info you need here. Voting will start at 20:00 UTC on 15 December, so register today.
The winning team (s) will receive an ADA payout direct to their wallet, to bring their ideas to life. To encourage accountability, the Project Catalyst community will then monitor progress through regular status updates by the funded projects.
Currently, we have over 70 proposals competing for community funds. You can access all via our Ideascale Innovation platform or take a look them as we continue adding to our Twitter megathread, our #festivalofideas
This is only the beginning for Project Catalyst and for on-chain governance for Cardano. This first round remains experimental. The process will be refined and developed, and we shall iterate both the technology and experience to make the experience ever smoother and simpler. Like any early technology, we’ll see huge improvements in every generation, with community feedback and guidance key.
And expect to see leaps ahead with each generation. We’re moving fast. A call for applications to Fund3 – which doubles the available funds to $500k worth – will begin shortly after the Fund2 vote. The next funding round will focus on Dapp development on the Cardano blockchain. There will be an additional focus on bringing developers and developer tools into the ecosystem from elsewhere. Fund3 will also include community-generated challenges in order to transfer more power to the Project Catalyst community.
If you have an idea that could bring value to Cardano then we want to hear from you. Create an IdeaScale account, or join our Telegram channel to become a part of Project Catalyst.
The registration window for Fund2 voting opened tonight at 20:00 and closes at 17:00 UTC on 15th December. There is only a relatively short window to register this time, due to the approaching Cardano ‘token locking’ protocol update, scheduled for 16th December. However, once registered, community members will have from Tuesday 15 December at 20:00 UTC until Jan 4th 20:00 UTC to review ideas and cast their vote, via new iOs and Android voting apps and a specially created Daedalus wallet.
So there is plenty of time over the holiday season for ada holders to explore the ideas. If you want to get involved with this important journey in its early, exciting days, join us. Make your voice heard and vote for those you feel can add the most value to the ecosystem.
