Cardano Community Rejects 7.8M ADA; 2026 Summit Canceled

Cardano stakeholders voted down a 7.8 million ADA proposal from the network treasury, cancelling the Cardano Summit 2026 that had been scheduled for Oct. 5–6 in Singapore. The requested amount equaled roughly $1.83 million and did not reach the approval threshold required by Cardano’s on-chain governance.

The proposal sought 7.8 million ADA to cover costs for the two-day event. Organizers reduced the request by about 22% before the vote, but delegates still rejected it. Delegates pointed to a large gap between projected revenues and the event budget as a primary concern.

Organizers presented a gross budget of $2.26 million with a revenue target of $450,000, leaving the treasury responsible for most costs. The funding plan also called for about 6.24 million ADA to be released before the Summit, a scheduling detail that drew criticism.

Some delegates who abstained accepted the revisions but questioned whether the Summit format was an efficient way to pursue institutional participation, suggesting smaller invite-only meetings, side events and private roundtables as lower-cost alternatives.

The vote follows an earlier decision this year in which delegates rejected a separate 32.9 million ADA proposal for research funding. Governance changes proposed by Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson earlier in the year may influence how future funding requests are structured and evaluated.

Cardano will still have a presence in Singapore the same week after a separate EMURGO proposal to sponsor TOKEN2049 on Oct. 7–8 passed a governance vote. The Cardano Foundation is assessing next steps and other community engagement options.

On the market, ADA was trading around $0.2327, down about 1.8% over 24 hours, with a market capitalization near $8.7 billion. Cardano’s on-chain governance requires delegate approval before treasury funds can be released, and the recent vote determined that the Summit would not receive treasury funding.