The lack of builder incentive, lack of GTM, and governance participation incentive is the downfall of 2026.
There was only grant funding via Catalyst to keep things going and that’s a shell of its former itself if it does comeback this year.
Everything went to infra, which let’s be real, only supported 1 major vendor, at least alt nodes are coming.
Cardano will now downsize but not in areas it needed.
Governance will lose DReps, let’s see how CC election goes too. I’m calling it Givernance because that’s what it is here.
Tools and Builders will begin to exit, which will not assist.
The only content creators or event teams we had will move on also or sponsor with other chains that care.
We are now back to post ICO days, where it’s the chain building again but for what this time? Who knows the Vision 2030 doc is probably not even being achieved outside infra. Goals.
Cardano has no target market identified, there is no objective aimed at the actual users of the chain now, we aim for potentials that have not or never shown up.
Even if it is FE lead, hire a real Product guy from Silicon Valley and use some of the R&D to build one product that will get users!
The community has zero capital to do anything and is pinching every lovelace to find markets while the real investment is building new stuff for science.
You can do both, it’s doesn’t have to be 99% rd and infra!
Cardano as a unit literally achieved an ecosystem famine until summer 2027 in worst market of the last few years, it’s a lot of teams and people at fault that achieved this.
At least there are some notable highs but literally this ecosystem has been about chasing bad narratives on the chain, and driving those trying to do good out. If nothing changes, I hope the last few holders enjoy a lot of worthless ada.
Side note too, yes we have teams asking for Ada funds because there is no market to support them, we are literally trading amongst the same folks, we need a unified GTM and some stipends until an ARR on network revenue can be achieved.
I just finished listening to a lot of other ecosystems GTM’s and I’m sad for Cardano, I think we have made ourselves a ghost chain.
There is only do or do not, there is no try.
So I’m calling on those trying to build, let’s unify or meet or something, I’ll sponsor the slack or zoom, whatever is needed to build a market consortium and work with Draper and Chinstrap teams to pilot a GTM movement with who’s left, let’s do something with a 90 day plan. This is my personal last attempt to get something going.
Sincerely one really angry cowboy