Hoskinson to review 11,000+ DAOs to reform Cardano governance

Charles Hoskinson, founder of Cardano, has launched a review of governance across more than 11,000 decentralized autonomous organizations. He announced the initiative on X on May 23, 2026 and said he will study executive function, roadmap and strategy-setting models and a decade of governance research to develop proposals for Cardano’s constitution and new governance tools.

The review comes as Input Output Global (IOG) seeks treasury funding for Cardano’s 2026 research roadmap, including work on quantum security and scaling architecture. About 87% of Delegated Representatives, or DReps, are voting against the proposal ahead of a June 8 deadline.

Hoskinson warned that IOG would not resubmit the proposal if it fails and that a rejection could prompt layoffs and affect Cardano’s research-focused identity. He is considering registering as a DRep to gain a vote in the on-chain governance system and has proposed holding a mini-convention before the 2027 governance cycle to build alignment among stakeholders.

The review is framed as a search for structural options rather than short-term fixes. Drawing on models from thousands of DAOs could inform how the network formalizes roadmap-setting authority, clarifies executive roles and creates dispute-resolution mechanisms within its constitution. Hoskinson has not outlined specific amendments or tools, and more details are expected as the review progresses.

In a post on X he wrote: “I’ve begun a comprehensive governance review of over 11,000 DAOs and a decade of literature in and out of our space to study executive function, roadmap, and strategy setting. The goal will be to propose some ideas to add new features to Cardano’s governance via the constitution.”

Earlier tensions in the Cardano community included disagreements over how IOG and the Cardano Foundation interacted, with Hoskinson previously calling for structural changes in the foundation’s operations. Whether the review results in constitutional amendments, new on-chain tooling, or both will depend on stakeholder support in the months ahead.