Defining the Cardano Vision and Roadmap for 2025 and beyond
7 of 7 committee members voted
- Cardano Foundation6796d87d…c280YesExpired · term ends epoch 580Rationale unavailable
- Cardano Japan Council (ICC)4012cab5…0755YesExpired · term ends epoch 580Rationale unavailable
- Emurgodc2b0706…89b8YesExpired · term ends epoch 580Rationale
EMURGO concludes to vote in favour of this Info Action, based on the rationale provided below.
The Cardano Constitution emphasizes principles such as transparency, community collaboration, and the long-term sustainability of the Cardano ecosystem. The 2025 Vision $RATIONALE Roadmap aligns with these principles by focusing on enhancing Layer 1 performance, expanding Layer 2 solutions, improving developer experience, and fostering a thriving ecosystem through strategic partnerships and community engagement.
Given that Info actions are intended to disseminate information, and that this particular action aligns with the core principles outlined in the Cardano Constitution, it is reasonable to conclude that this Info action is constitutional.
EMURGO has historically voted “Yes” on all Info Actions unless there have been constitutional concerns sufficient to vote otherwise. We intend to follow this logic and hence will vote “Yes” on this Info Action as well.
At the same time, we recognize areas for improvement in this proposal. Future Info and Governance Actions can benefit from referring to Article 3, Section 5 of the Cardano Constitution. A key consideration in this Info Action is the proposed roadmap, which is stored in metadata. However, since the roadmap itself is hosted on a website, it remains subject to modification.
In order to promote transparency in the process of on-chain governance, prior to being recorded or enacted on-chain, all proposed governance actions are expected to follow a standardized and legible format including a URL and hash of all documented off-chain content to the Cardano Blockchain. Sufficient rationale shall be provided to justify the requested change to the Cardano Blockchain. The rationale shall include, at a minimum, a title, abstract, reason for the proposal, and relevant supporting materials.
The content of every on-chain governance action must be identical to the final off-chain version of the proposed action.
"Hard Fork Initiation" and "Protocol Parameter Change" governance actions shall undergo sufficient technical review and scrutiny as mandated by the Guardrails to ensure that the governance action does not endanger the security, functionality, performance or long-term sustainability of the Cardano Blockchain. On-chain governance actions should address their expected impact on the Cardano Blockchain ecosystem.
All owners of ada shall have the right to ensure that the process for participating in, submitting and voting on on-chain governance actions is open and transparent and is protected from undue influence and manipulation.
ARTICLE III. PARTICIPATORY AND DECENTRALIZED GOVERNANCE, Section 5
A possible enhancement would be to convert the roadmap into a PDF, and attach its hash in the metadata section of the governance action.
We also recognise that the authors expect iterations to the roadmap and for dReps to vote periodically as those changes are made. They state within the Info Action (our highlighting):
Motivation
During the lifetime of the governance action, the Product Committee will iterate upon the roadmap based upon DRep feedback, adjusting the referenced roadmap. DReps are encouraged to attach metadata to their votes, providing rationale; these rationales will be reviewed by the Product Committee. A yes vote for this action signals support for the proposed roadmap. A no vote on this action signals a lack of support for the roadmap. An abstain vote means signals neither in favor nor against. While the referenced roadmap develops, DReps should consider submitting multiple votes to signal approval across versions.
As such, we will PDF the 2025 Visions & Roadmap into the metadata of our vote for the purpose of the audit trail.
The proposal is constitutional
- Intersect Constitutional Council85c47dd4…bf64NoExpired · term ends epoch 580Rationale
The Intersect Constitutional Council votes that the roadmap vision Info Action governance action gov_action12me...hmr9wx (56f39054758f1a...c636#0) is not constitutional, with a vote split of 4-0-1.
The governance action proposes an Info Action to gather sentiment from DReps on the Product Committee’s proposed 2025 Cardano roadmap and long-term vision. The roadmap outlines strategic priorities and development initiatives intended to guide ecosystem direction and inform future governance and funding activities.
While the proposal is non-binding, the Council recognizes the importance of such sentiment-gathering mechanisms as part of the broader democratic process. The Council supports efforts to consult the community early on significant initiatives. However, the submission’s reliance on mutable documentation raises constitutional concerns.
The proposal references a publicly hosted roadmap at https://product.cardano.intersectmbo.org/vision-roadmap-2025, alongside an IPFS anchor (ipfs://bafkreiada4nn5eaezg43esieduks6l57vzkjdo2yfby7yxv6jrat7ilrdq). Not all critical components of the roadmap appear to be captured in the immutable metadata, introducing the potential for post-submission changes that could affect voter understanding or interpretation.
Under Article III Section 5 of the Constitution, proposed governance actions are expected to follow a standardised and legible format, including a URL and hash of all supporting content anchored to the Cardano blockchain. Although the language does not impose an absolute requirement, the lack of immutable documentation in this case compromises the integrity of the action.
The Council found no elements within the substantive content of the roadmap to be unconstitutional. However, because the primary reference is subject to change, the action does not meet the expectations set forth in the Constitution for transparency, consistency, and permanence.
The Council finds this Info Action to be not constitutional due to the absence of complete immutable documentation. The content of the proposal, as submitted and reviewed on March 25, 2025, was not found to contain anything unconstitutional. However, because it cannot be guaranteed that the referenced material will remain unchanged, the Council cannot confirm the constitutionality of the action as a whole.
This decision reflects the Council’s position that all governance actions should include complete and immutable references. Proposers are encouraged to anchor all relevant materials using IPFS or similar decentralized storage solutions when submitting future proposals.
- Cardano Atlantic Council07e0eb70…5bdeAbstainResigned · term ends epoch 580Rationale
Imprecise language in the proposal is causing interpretive uncertainty leading to a split consensus amongst the Cardano Atlantic Council and forcing a vote of abstain.
Imprecise language in the proposal is causing interpretive uncertainty leading to a split consensus amongst the Cardano Atlantic Council and forcing a vote of abstain.
Depending on the reading of the proposed rationale it behaves as:
1. An informal poll
- "the DRep vote will provide crucial input for strategic alignment and inform future budget proposals."
- "gathering community consensus" ... "reflects the collective will of their constituents"
2. A solicitation of feedback
- "the Product Committee will iterate upon the roadmap based upon DRep feedback"
- "while the referenced roadmap develops, DReps should consider submitting multiple votes to signal approval across versions."
3. A public mandate
- "A yes vote for this action signals support for the proposed roadmap. A no vote on this action signals a lack of support for the roadmap"
- "A well-defined roadmap, endorsed by DReps, ensures that development efforts are focused and aligned with the shared vision for Cardano."
- "exercise their governance rights and directly influence the development trajectory"
Lack of clarification that the vote is non-binding can be interpreted as this proposal seeking a decisive mandate in support or against a specific development roadmap that could later be used as justification for budgetary actions.
This brings this action directly into the purview of the Constitutional Committee pursuant to Article VII, Section 4 of the Cardano Constitution:
In the case of "Info" actions that propose a Cardano Blockchain ecosystem budget, Constitutional Committee members shall record a vote on-chain that sets forth their opinion as to whether the proposed budget, if it were to be implemented in the form contained in the "Info" action, would violate this Constitution.
Recognizing that our Council is divided on the interpretation of this action's intent, we must, per our founding charter, cast a vote of Abstain on this action.
- Eastern Cardano Council2ea7a78e…10ecAbstainExpired · term ends epoch 580Rationale
We have determined that this Info action does not meet the criteria deemed necessary for the Constitutional Committee to assess its constitutionality.
Based on the provisions of the Cardano Constitution described the considerations below, we believe that the Interim Constitutional Committee should abstain from voting on Info actions that do not measure sentiment for future governance actions that will be enacted on-chain.
The governance action with ID "56f39054758f1a...c63600" and title "Defining the Cardano Vision and Roadmap for 2025 and beyond" is an Info action that does not measure sentiment for future governance actions enacted on-chain.
Therefore we Abstain.
Consideration 1
Article VII Section 1 of the Cardano Constitution states "The Constitutional Committee shall comprise a set of owners of ada that is collectively responsible for ensuring that on-chain governance actions prior to enactment on-chain, are constitutional."
Since Info actions do not result in an on-chain enactment, the Constitutional Committee's core responsibility to ensure constitutionality of on-chain governance actions does not apply in the same way. The Constitutional Committee is therefore not mandated to evaluate Info actions under this provision.
Consideration 2
Article VII Section 4 of the Cardano Constitution states "Because 'Info' actions have no on-chain effect and, accordingly, are neither constitutional nor unconstitutional, Constitutional Committee members may not prevent 'Info' actions from being recorded on-chain. Members of the Constitutional Committee may nevertheless record a vote on-chain regarding an 'Info' action in order to express their view on such 'Info' action, including whether the suggested course of action proposed in such 'Info' action, would be, in the view of such member, unconstitutional if it were to be enforced by on-chain mechanisms."
Since this Info action does not include a specific proposed governance action that could be enforced on-chain, evaluating its constitutionality would not serve the intended purpose of this provision.
Consideration 3
Article VII Section 4 further states "In the case of 'Info' actions that propose a Cardano Blockchain ecosystem budget, Constitutional Committee members shall record a vote on-chain that sets forth their opinion as to whether the proposed budget, if it were to be implemented in the form contained in the 'Info' action, would violate this Constitution."
Since this Info action does not relate to a budget proposal, the Cardano Constitution does not require that we assess its constitutionality.
Other Comments
We acknowledge the importance of this governance action to agree on the direction of the Cardano ecosystem. Each member of the Eastern Cardano Council has our own personal opinions about the contents of this proposal, but despite them we maintain our commitment to our role as a member of the Interim Constitutional Committee, and to assess governance actions without letting our personal feelings towards them impact our assessment. We have therefore assessed this governance action in a way that is consistent with our interpretation of the Constitution for other Info actions.
We abstain from assessing the constitutionality of this governance action.
- Input | Output3c9ebce6…1e4cAbstainExpired · term ends epoch 580Rationale
Input | Output votes “Abstain” on the Info Action “Defining the Cardano Vision and Roadmap for 2025 and beyond.”
Some uses of the Info Action are matters of constitutional adjudication, such as budget proposals (Article VII, Section 4). However, most potential uses of the Info Action are not a matter of constitutional adjudication.
An Info Action that aims to ensure “that development efforts are focused and aligned with the shared vision for Cardano” is significant. However, because the constitution creates no direct limitations on this kind of initiative and to emphasize the neutrality appropriate to IO for this Action, we vote “Abstain.”