OnchainCore Infrastructureonchain
IO & Midgard Labs: L2 Scalability Initiative
Input Output (IO) & Midgard Labs
Three L2 workstreams: (1) L2-agnostic data availability strategy and prototype benefiting all Cardano L2s; (2) Hydra production hardening — DeFi reference implementations (perpetual DEX, prediction market, micropayment state machine), performance optimization, operational excellence, ecosystem support for Delta DeFi and Masumi; (3) Midgard mainnet launch — Cardano's first permissionless optimistic rollup targeting 10,000+ TPS and sub-$0.01 fees. Hydra and Midgard are explicitly complementary (known-party vs open-participation trust models).
Ask (ADA)
10,425,871
Ask (USD)
$2,502,209
Peg
$0.24
Eff. ADA @ spot
9,456,572
Peg vs market
✓ conservative
Scorecard
13 of 19 criteria answered
Amber · 91%· pending review
How this score works
Each criterion is worth between 1 and 4 points. The score is the points earned out of the points on criteria that have been answered — shown as a percentage. Green is 75% or higher, Amber is 50–74%, and Red is below 50%.
Some criteria are checked automatically against the proposal data (open source, doxxed team, treasury return clauses, etc.). Others are human-judgment calls — value for money, public good, whether the deliverables are realistic. Those stay blank until a DRep ticks them.
Criteria can also be marked Not applicablewhen they don't fit the proposal — for example, "open source" doesn't apply to a DAO governance proposal with no software output. Those are excluded from the score entirely, neither helping nor hurting.
Green requires 80% coverage. If less than 80% of the applicable criteria (by points) have been answered, the verdict stays at Amber — "pending review" — even when every answered criterion passes. This proposal's coverage is currently 68% (13 of 19 applicable criteria answered). The auto-calculated band would have been Green, but coverage is below the threshold so the verdict is shown as Amber to flag that judgment criteria are still pending.
Vote intent
Export & audit
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{
"schema_version": "1.2.0",
"id": "onchain-io-midgard-l2-scalability",
"ingestion": {
"ingested_at": "2026-05-11T16:10:00Z",
"ingested_by": "claude-opus-4.7",
"source_documents": [
"https://www.cardanocube.com/governance/gov_actions/gov_action1w0shrfxqwv95kk0v4cn34wylz25a2cmqkq5jpc0e2yrahhqava3qghg4q43",
"https://ipnso-com.ipns.dweb.link/?cid=QmYfHrmfTKYGK9YR95ewXSwEruEfGPAtpnp1qwoEUekJa7"
],
"extraction_notes": "IO 2026 portfolio (tx #4). Co-venture with Midgard Labs. Explicit No is the HIGHEST in the IO batch so far (187.72M) — notably more than the next closest. This likely reflects DRep concern about Midgard mainnet risk (rated High/High by proposer) and the largest production-risk bet in the IO slate. Delta DeFi and Masumi named as live production dependents. Hydra WS2 is ₳7.58M of ₳10.4M total — substantially more than the WS1 (DA strategy ₳1.9M) and WS3 (Midgard ₳0.95M). WS3 Midgard allocation seems low for a mainnet launch — likely because most Midgard engineering is self-funded by Midgard Labs."
},
"source": {
"channels": [
"onchain"
],
"hydra_id": null,
"onchain_tx_hash": "73e171a4c0730b4b59ecae271ab89f12a9d56360b02920e1f95107dbdc1d6762",
"onchain_action_id": "gov_action1w0shrfxqwv95kk0v4cn34wylz25a2cmqkq5jpc0e2yrahhqava3qghg4q43"
},
"identity": {
"title": "IO & Midgard Labs: L2 Scalability Initiative",
"proposer_name": "Input Output (IO) & Midgard Labs",
"proposer_id": "io-research",
"proposer_type": "coalition",
"proposer_url": "https://www.iog.io",
"doxxed": true,
"primary_contact": "Sharan Konerira (named in IO Momentum overview as co-lead)",
"team_size_disclosed": null,
"team_size_disclosed_note": "WS1: Innovation engineers (DA). WS2: Hydra engineers + 2 external contractors. WS3: Midgard Labs development team. WS2 budget is 73% of total (₳7.58M) — most of this is Hydra engineering."
},
"classification": {
"official_pillar_primary": [
"Infrastructure & Research Excellence",
"Adoption & Utility"
],
"official_pillar_secondary": [
"Community & Ecosystem Growth",
"Ecosystem Sustainability & Resilience"
],
"official_pillar_confidence": "stated",
"working_category_suggestion": "Core Infrastructure",
"working_category_confidence": "high",
"tags": [
"layer-2",
"hydra",
"midgard",
"optimistic-rollup",
"data-availability",
"defi",
"delta-defi",
"masumi",
"throughput",
"micropayments",
"eutxo",
"fraud-proofs",
"l2-agnostic"
]
},
"ask": {
"ada_amount": 10425871,
"ada_amount_note": "WS1 DA Infrastructure ₳1,895,613 (18%), WS2 Hydra Production ₳7,582,452 (73%), WS3 Midgard ₳947,806 (9%). Budget: Development ₳8,966,249 (86%), Engagement ₳625,552 (6%), Operations ₳312,776 (3%), remainder 1% each.",
"usd_amount": 2502209,
"usd_peg_price": 0.24,
"pegged": true,
"currency_basis": "usd_pegged",
"usd_peg_vs_market": "conservative",
"implied_buffer_pct": -8,
"duration_months": 9,
"milestone_count": null,
"milestone_payments_disclosed": false,
"milestone_schedule_disclosed": "names_only",
"raw_ask_text": "Total Treasury Ask: ₳10,425,871. USD figures ($2,502,209) are provided for reference only, based on an ADA/USD rate of 0.24. WS1 L2 Agnostic: ₳1,895,613. WS2 Hydra Production: ₳7,582,452. WS3 Midgard: ₳947,806."
},
"treasury_return": {
"has_return_clause": true,
"mechanisms": [
{
"type": "unspent_funds",
"trigger": "Funds undisbursed at end of delivery period OR partial delivery / scope reduction",
"deadline": "End of delivery period (Q1 2027)",
"excluded_costs": [],
"estimated_return_pct": null,
"estimated_return_pct_note": "Proportional to undelivered scope"
}
],
"treasury_favourability": "moderate",
"treasury_favourability_confidence": "high",
"treasury_favourability_note": "Standard IO 2026 proportional return language. Proposal also notes Midgard architecture includes a mechanism to route sequencer revenue to the Cardano treasury — but this is not a formal treasury return commitment in this proposal; it's a future design feature. Captured as context only.",
"treasury_favourability_set_by": "ai",
"raw_return_text": "All funds not disbursed by the end of the delivery period will be returned to the Cardano Treasury. In the event of partial delivery or scope reduction, unspent funds associated with cancelled or reduced deliverables will be returned proportionally."
},
"lifecycle": {
"pipeline_state": "onchain_live",
"hydra_submitted_at": null,
"hydra_close_at": null,
"hydra_support_pct": null,
"onchain_submitted_at": "2026-04-22T00:00:00Z",
"onchain_vote_close_at": "2026-05-24T00:00:00Z",
"onchain_result": null,
"status_last_checked_at": "2026-05-11T16:10:00Z"
},
"links": {
"hydra_url": null,
"adastat_url": null,
"ipfs_cid": "QmYfHrmfTKYGK9YR95ewXSwEruEfGPAtpnp1qwoEUekJa7",
"ipfs_gateway_url": "https://ipnso-com.ipns.dweb.link/?cid=QmYfHrmfTKYGK9YR95ewXSwEruEfGPAtpnp1qwoEUekJa7",
"github_url": null,
"website_url": "https://www.iog.io",
"forum_thread_url": null,
"other": [
{
"label": "IO Momentum portfolio overview",
"url": "https://momentum.cardano.iog.io/"
}
]
},
"content": {
"abstract": "Three L2 workstreams: (1) L2-agnostic data availability strategy and prototype benefiting all Cardano L2s; (2) Hydra production hardening — DeFi reference implementations (perpetual DEX, prediction market, micropayment state machine), performance optimization, operational excellence, ecosystem support for Delta DeFi and Masumi; (3) Midgard mainnet launch — Cardano's first permissionless optimistic rollup targeting 10,000+ TPS and sub-$0.01 fees. Hydra and Midgard are explicitly complementary (known-party vs open-participation trust models).",
"problem_statement": "Cardano L1: 2hr+ finality, ~$0.17/tx, ~7-10 TPS. Competitors: 400ms-2s finality, sub-cent fees, 1,000-7,000+ TPS. Result: high-performance verticals (DeFi, AI micropayments, gaming, consumer payments) self-eliminate Cardano at the selection stage. L1 upgrades (Leios, Peras) will not fully arrive until 2027 and won't cover zero-fee or sub-second use cases.",
"proposed_solution": "WS1: Evaluate candidate DA layer designs (Q3) → spec + prototype of selected design (Q4). WS2: DAG-Hydra feasibility study; DeFi reference implementations (perpetual DEX, prediction market, micropayment state machine) for Delta DeFi and Masumi; performance optimization (max TPS, memory, binary protocol); operational excellence (runbooks, observability, logging). WS3: Midgard penetration testing → mainnet launch by end of 2026.",
"deliverables": [
"Cardano DA strategy evaluation and recommendation (Q3 2026)",
"DA solution specification and prototype (Q4 2026)",
"DAG-Hydra feasibility study (Q3 2026)",
"Hydra DeFi reference implementations (perpetual DEX, prediction market, micropayment state machine) (Q3-Q4 2026)",
"Hydra performance optimization (max TPS, memory reduction, benchmarking suite, binary protocol)",
"Hydra operational excellence (operator runbooks, node configuration, TUI, observability)",
"Hydra ecosystem support for Delta DeFi, Masumi, Midgard fast-withdrawal integration",
"Midgard mainnet launch by end of 2026"
],
"milestones": [
{
"name": "WS1 DA Stage 1 (Q3 2026)",
"deliverable": "Candidate DA designs evaluated; recommendation documented",
"ada_release": null,
"deadline": "2026-09-30"
},
{
"name": "WS1 DA Stage 2 (Q4 2026)",
"deliverable": "DA specification and prototype implementation",
"ada_release": null,
"deadline": "2026-12-31"
},
{
"name": "WS2 Hydra Q3 batch",
"deliverable": "DAG-Hydra feasibility study; DeFi reference impls Phase 1; performance + operational excellence Phase 1",
"ada_release": null,
"deadline": "2026-09-30"
},
{
"name": "WS2 Hydra Q4 batch",
"deliverable": "DeFi reference impls complete; performance + operational excellence complete; ecosystem support ongoing",
"ada_release": null,
"deadline": "2026-12-31"
},
{
"name": "WS3 Midgard mainnet (Q4 2026)",
"deliverable": "Penetration testing complete; Midgard live on mainnet",
"ada_release": null,
"deadline": "2026-12-31"
}
],
"team": [
{
"name": "Sharan Konerira",
"role": "IO co-lead (named in Momentum overview)",
"background": null
},
{
"name": "Midgard Labs",
"role": "Co-proposer — Midgard optimistic rollup architecture and mainnet launch",
"background": "Specialist team behind Cardano's first permissionless optimistic rollup; advanced Cardano L2 from concept to testnet"
}
],
"risks_disclosed": [
"Technical (High/High): Midgard multi-operator coordination is the hardest engineering challenge — round-robin consensus not yet stress-tested; on the critical path to mainnet",
"Technical (Medium/Medium): DA architecture selection — wrong choice creates long-term debt for all Cardano L2s; Stage 1 is evaluation-only",
"Ecosystem (Medium/High): Delta DeFi and Masumi are live production users depending on Hydra hardening timeline; delays risk migration to competing platforms",
"Process (Low/Low): DAG-Hydra feasibility study may conclude DAG solutions don't apply to Cardano — acceptable outcome is documented rejection with rationale",
"External (Medium/Medium): 2 external Hydra contractors required; lead-time risk for Q3 onboarding"
]
},
"metadata": {
"open_source": "yes",
"open_source_url": null,
"has_prior_funding": true,
"prior_funding_sources": [
"IO prior treasury allocations (same as other IO 2026 proposals); Hydra R&D funded in prior cycles"
],
"has_prior_delivery": true,
"prior_delivery_evidence": "Hydra production ready; Midnight Glacier Drop processed token distribution for 30M+ users across 8 blockchains using Hydra. Midgard testnet in progress (Q3-Q4 2026 mainnet target). Delta DeFi and Masumi are live production commitments to Hydra.",
"admin_model": "intersect",
"administrator_name": "Intersect",
"oversight_committee": [
"Sundae Labs",
"Cardano Foundation",
"DQuadrant",
"Xerberus",
"NMKR"
],
"administration_fee_pct": 3,
"duplicate_of_existing_solution": {
"value": "no",
"confidence": "high",
"set_by": "ai"
},
"duplicate_notes": "Hydra and Midgard are the canonical Cardano L2 solutions developed by IO. CV26 explicitly scoped OUT 'a data-availability solution to satisfy immediate infrastructure needs' (in Midgard Labs L2 initiative) — confirming this proposal is the designated home for that work. No other team is working on these specific deliverables."
},
"relationships": {
"bundle_with": [
"onchain-cardano-vision-2026",
"onchain-io-developer-experience-initiative",
"onchain-io-ensurable-cardano-maintenance",
"onchain-io-cardano-high-assurance",
"onchain-io-vacuumlabs-plutus-enhancement",
"onchain-io-consensus-initiative",
"onchain-io-cardano-upgrades"
],
"supersedes": [],
"competes_with": [],
"depends_on": [],
"notes": "CV26 explicitly scoped out the DA solution work as belonging to this proposal. Midgard Labs is also a consortium member in the High Assurance proposal (in this corpus). The DA strategy deliverable (WS1) is shared infrastructure that benefits ALL Cardano L2s including Hydra itself and any future rollups."
},
"community_signals": {
"comment_count": 0,
"notable_objections": [],
"notable_endorsements": [],
"forum_thread_urls": [],
"live_voting_state": {
"as_of": "2026-05-11",
"drep_yes_ada": 167110000,
"drep_no_ada": 5620000000,
"drep_explicit_no_ada": 187720000,
"drep_no_confidence_ada": 201000000,
"drep_not_voted_ada": 5230000000,
"drep_total_active_stake_ada": 14940000000,
"cc_yes": 1,
"cc_no": 0,
"cc_not_voted": 6,
"interpretation": "FAILING. Explicit No (187.72M) is the HIGHEST in the IO batch — more than High Assurance (76M), Maintenance (34.5M), Plutus (35.8M). Likely driven by concern about Midgard mainnet risk (self-rated High/High) and the compressed timeline for a novel optimistic rollup architecture."
}
},
"ecosystem_demand": {
"evidence_level": "strong",
"evidence_level_confidence": "high",
"evidence_level_set_by": "ai",
"active_users_known": true,
"active_users_examples": [
{
"name": "Delta DeFi",
"kind": "user",
"url": null
},
{
"name": "Masumi",
"kind": "user",
"url": null
},
{
"name": "Midnight (30M+ users via Glacier Drop)",
"kind": "user",
"url": null
}
],
"developer_demand_signals": [
"Delta DeFi building entire product roadmap on Hydra — live production commitment",
"Masumi requires Hydra for machine-to-machine AI micropayments — live production commitment",
"Hydra successfully ran Midnight Glacier Drop (30M+ users, 8 blockchains)",
"L2 performance gap vs Ethereum, Solana competitors is quantified and measurable",
"DeFi TVL globally ~$20B in DEX/AMM alone; Cardano share ~$150M — gap is structural, not speculative"
],
"adoption_risk_notes": "Demand is strongly evidenced by named production dependents. The risk is delivery timing — Midgard mainnet is a High/High technical risk. If Delta DeFi or Masumi migrate before Hydra hardening completes, the production-validation story collapses."
},
"incumbents": {
"has_existing_solution": "no",
"has_existing_solution_confidence": "high",
"has_existing_solution_set_by": "ai",
"existing_solutions": [],
"differentiation_claim": "Hydra is the canonical Cardano L2 for known-party high-frequency use cases. Midgard is the first permissionless optimistic rollup on Cardano — EUTXO-native single-party fraud proofs are a genuine technical differentiator vs Ethereum L2s which still use custodial multisig models.",
"differentiation_credibility": "high"
},
"risk_flags": {
"aggressive_peg": false,
"self_administered_no_oversight": false,
"incumbent_already_delivering": false,
"no_evidence_of_demand": false,
"competes_with_in_batch": false,
"concentration_risk": true,
"failing_live_vote": true,
"high_technical_risk": true
},
"risk_flags_note": "high_technical_risk: Midgard multi-operator coordination self-rated High/High by proposer. concentration_risk: IO portfolio bundle. failing_live_vote: Highest Explicit No in IO batch (187.72M), Yes 167M vs No 5.62B, expires May 24.",
"_meta": {
"title": "IO & Midgard Labs: L2 Scalability Initiative",
"proposer": "Input Output (IO) & Midgard Labs"
}
}