Net Change Limit: Cardano Treasury (Epochs 613-713)
On-chain changes
Informational action. No on-chain effect; the vote signals opinion only.
Abstract
By this Info action, the DReps agree a new Net Change Limit of 500,000,000 ada (500,000,000,000,000 lovelace) for the Cardano Treasury, for the period beginning at the start of Epoch 613 (February 13, 2026) and ending at the close of Epoch 713 (on or about July 3, 2027). This Net Change Limit is a fixed cap on the total ada removed from the Treasury through Treasury Withdrawals during the period; it does not count Treasury inflows. This is a newly agreed Net Change Limit: it is the applicable Net Change Limit for the period and supersedes any prior Net Change Limit for the same period. Because the period begins at the start of Epoch 613, all Treasury Withdrawals already debited during the period count toward this 500,000,000 ada limit. This Info action records the DReps' agreement to this Net Change Limit when Yes votes exceed 50% of the active voting stake, the threshold TREASURY-01a sets for agreeing a Net Change Limit; it has no direct on-chain effect and does not authorize any Treasury Withdrawal.
Motivation & rationale
The existing 350,000,000 ada Net Change Limit for Epochs 613-713 has served as a useful fiscal guardrail; however, its remaining window runs into mid-2027, and the practical room under it is becoming constrained. Agreeing a new Net Change Limit for Epochs 613-713, set at 500,000,000 ada (higher than the 350,000,000 ada limit previously agreed for this period), preserves the ability for DReps to consider credible Treasury Withdrawals on their merits, while keeping a clear fixed guardrail and the same simple accounting. This is not a mandate to spend; DReps retain full discretion to approve or reject each Treasury Withdrawal.
THE NET CHANGE LIMIT. (3.1) Limit. The Net Change Limit for the period is 500,000,000 ada, equal to 500,000,000,000,000 lovelace. (3.2) Period. The period for this Net Change Limit begins at the start of Epoch 613 (February 13, 2026) and ends at the close of Epoch 713 (the transition to Epoch 714, on or about July 3, 2027). (3.3) What the limit caps. This Net Change Limit caps the total amount of lovelace removed from the Cardano Treasury during the period. Lovelace is removed from the Cardano Treasury when it is debited from the Cardano Treasury by an enacted Treasury Withdrawals governance action recorded on the Cardano ledger. (3.4) Calculation. The amount counted toward this Net Change Limit is the cumulative sum, in lovelace, of all Treasury Withdrawals debited from the Cardano Treasury during the period. A Treasury Withdrawal is within this Net Change Limit only if, after it is debited, that cumulative sum does not exceed 500,000,000,000,000 lovelace (500,000,000 ada). All amounts are calculated in lovelace; ada figures are readability equivalents. Treasury inflows (including reserve and protocol allocations, transaction-fee allocations, refunds, and returns of Treasury-funded amounts) are not counted in this calculation and do not increase the limit. (3.5) Only ledger amounts count. Only Treasury Withdrawals actually debited and recorded on the Cardano ledger are counted. Expected, scheduled, draft, or unratified future withdrawals are not counted. (3.6) Prior withdrawals count. Treasury Withdrawals already debited during the period are included in the cumulative sum and remain valid; this action does not reset, reverse, re-open, or re-authorize any prior Treasury Withdrawal. CONSTITUTIONAL BASIS. This action is drafted to comply with the enacted Cardano Constitution (version 2.4, effective January 24, 2026) and the Appendix I Guardrails. Nothing in the Constitution limits the DReps to a single Net Change Limit or prevents a newly agreed Net Change Limit from applying to the period. A Treasury Withdrawals action that has not yet been ratified or enacted when this Net Change Limit is agreed is assessed under this Net Change Limit, and not under any prior Net Change Limit.
2026 to 2027 Net Change Limit
Epochs 613 to 713Rationale highlights
Why some of the largest DReps voted for and against, in their own words. About vote rationales
Please check the following link for the reasons for the vote.（投票理由は次のページを参照してください。) https://adatool.net/treasury-votes?lang=en&a=151 Under the current NCL's remaining headroom (₳76.8M), legitimate proposals — including PRIME (₳120M), which I voted YES on —...
Please check the following link for the reasons for the vote.（投票理由は次のページを参照してください。)
https://adatool.net/treasury-votes?lang=en&a=151
Under the current NCL's remaining headroom (₳76.8M), legitimate proposals — including PRIME (₳120M), which I voted YES on — physically cannot be executed. The budget ceiling is not the place to judge the merits of individual proposals; that judgment is expressed in each proposal's own vote — and I voted YES on PRIME individually, after tough analysis (analysis: adatool.net/cardano-growth-primer).
The NCL is a ceiling, not a spending plan. Raising it approves nothing by itself; every withdrawal must still clear the 67% DRep threshold on its own merits. Rather than killing growth investment on the procedural grounds of "no headroom", I vote to keep each proposal judgeable on substance.A few months ago the Cardano community set the NCL to 350m ADA. A lot got funded. Increasing the NCL to unsustainable amounts must not be the norm and can't be done every year, but we don't want to block AG through not voting YES in the increased NCL. We...
A few months ago the Cardano community set the NCL to 350m ADA. A lot got funded.
Increasing the NCL to unsustainable amounts must not be the norm and can't be done every year, but we don't want to block AG through not voting YES in the increased NCL.
We will look into the AG proposal next week.
As a DRep, I vote NO on the proposal: Net Change Limit: Cardano Treasury (Epochs 613–713). My rationale: Cardano governance must be able to define strategy, set priorities, and allocate Treasury resources responsibly. A necessary step is better coordination...
As a DRep, I vote NO on the proposal: Net Change Limit: Cardano Treasury (Epochs 613–713).
My rationale:
Cardano governance must be able to define strategy, set priorities, and allocate Treasury resources responsibly. A necessary step is better coordination among DReps on how the available budget should be used.
Ideally, we should first define some form of budget bucket system that makes clear how much funding should be allocated to key categories such as core infrastructure, research, integrations, liquidity, ecosystem support, commercial adoption, community projects, and other priorities.
Without preparation, coordination, structure, and prioritization, increasing the NCL risks becoming another unstructured run on the Treasury. Teams will compete to submit additional withdrawals, and DReps will be expected to process them without a clear strategic framework.
DReps are already exhausted after the Intersect budget process. They have reviewed more than 100 proposals, with many still active. Most community DReps work for free, and it is also the summer vacation period in many countries. Burdening DReps with a large number of additional proposals at this point is not reasonable.
I understand the argument that Cardano should invest even beyond current Treasury income because we need growth and commercial adoption. I partially agree with that view. However, this makes strategy and prioritization even more important, not less. If we want to increase the NCL, we should first have a serious debate among DReps about how the additional budget should be allocated and what outcomes we expect from it.
Approving an increase in the NCL without a clear strategy, allocation framework, and prioritization process seems irresponsible to me. Before expanding the spending capacity of the Treasury, we need to address the governance and coordination issues that currently limit our ability to make wise funding decisions.
If you'd like to support my work, consider delegating to the MANDA pool and backing me as a DRep. Your support is the only way I can get time for governance.
MANDA Pool ID:
pool1c3fjkls7d2aujud8y5xy5e0azu0ueatwn34u7jy3ql85ze3xya8My DRep ID:
drep1y2m0g4r66pyaw3p7u454wc0p4f0ygm8ueaev0mgd3tvwm7sskqwqpBuy me a beer:
https://pay.cexplorer.io/pay/c0410d5b237b6ec0I've expressed my viewpoint on the NCL over and over again in my votes, in videos, and on X. Happy to repeat it again here. I do not support levels of spending that would zero out the Cardano Treasury within a decade. I certainly cannot support even higher...
I've expressed my viewpoint on the NCL over and over again in my votes, in videos, and on X. Happy to repeat it again here. I do not support levels of spending that would zero out the Cardano Treasury within a decade. I certainly cannot support even higher levels that would zero out the Treasury in something like a half-decade. Everyone can examine this for themselves at the Treasury Depletion Calculator: https://tempo.vote/treasury.