Eternl: Path to Sustainability - v2
On-chain changes
- 2,350,000 ₳paid tostake1u92...fc8h620a
Abstract
Preamble
The previous proposal, “Eternl: Path to Sustainability (2026-2027),” received NO votes from CC members due to a lack of clarity regarding audits.
This new proposal is essentially the same as the previous one and adds that clarification.
Previous Governance action:
gov_action1ngp...dm3w3z
https://adastat.net/governances/9a020ea7a6a0d813ff08c92bd8300b26077ae69a4b827c4d432ac665120325d700
Key differences:
- Added clarification on Audit funds spending and oversight metrics, as requested in the CC vote rationales.
- Updated Ada to USD conversion rates
- Changed FAQ answer: Eternl DRep will abstain on this proposal
Clarification on FTEs:
Our price per FTE is $70,000 (compared to other proposals exceeding $200,000 per FTE). A reasonable lower bound rate. Our 6 FTEs are distributed across 10 people contributing to Eternl in various capacities, most of them part-time.
Abstract
Eternl is a non-custodial Cardano light wallet for the web, browser extension, Android, and iOS.
Users rely on Eternl for payments, staking, governance, and DApp interaction.
This proposal enables 12 months of operations, maintenance, and improvements. It includes frontend and backend maintenance and development, backend infrastructure, user support, and day-to-day operations.
The goal is to keep Eternl secure, compatible, stable, and available as Cardano keeps evolving. This costs around $420,000 per year.
Motivation & rationale
Budget and Budget Breakdown
The Path to Sustainability
Eternl will introduce a Pro plan for personal and company use.
| Plan | Price |
|---|---|
| Personal | $96/year ($8/month) |
| Company | $360/year ($30/month) |
Eternl has an install base of about 100,000 on the browser extension and about 30,000 across Android and iOS.
If about 4.2% of that install base, or roughly 5,500 users, support Eternl by buying a Pro plan, this income alone would fully cover the annual $420,000 cost.
Since markets are down badly, this proposal helps cover Eternl's costs until income from Pro plan sales is enough to fully replace them.
We will keep a basic version of Eternl free, but aim to make Eternl Pro the best experience for all Ada holders.
What We Ask From the Cardano Community
Total: ₳2,350,000 (at about $0.1787 per Ada)
| Category | Amount | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Frontend | ₳1,292,500 | 55% |
| Backend | ₳587,500 | 25% |
| Support | ₳117,500 | 5% |
| Admin | ₳305,500 | 13% |
| Audits | ₳47,000 | 2% |
What We Will Do After the Treasury Withdrawal
We will convert up to $420,000 worth of Ada into stablecoins and deposit it into a public company wallet for everyone to monitor. Any Ada above that amount will be returned to the treasury.
Any Ada held before conversion or return will be held in an auditable account, will not be delegated to an SPO, and will be delegated to the predefined abstain voting option.
Independent Audits and Oversight Metrics
The Audits allocation covers periodic independent audits of treasury fund use and the implementation of oversight metrics. It is not a technical security audit budget.
An independent party unaffiliated with Tastenkunst GmbH or the Eternl team will perform the audits in February 2027 and August 2027. The audits will review receipt, custody, conversion, spending, remaining balances, Pro plan income relevant to repayment, and any refunds or repayments to the Cardano Treasury. Oversight metrics will include balances, conversion rates, transaction hashes, and treasury repayment hashes.
Paying It Back to the Treasury
Every December and June, we will assess the following:
Full repayment
Are the remaining treasury stablecoins plus paid plan income above $420,000? If yes, we will use 100% of the surplus to repay the treasury. We will do this until the full USD value of this proposal, as received from the treasury, has been repaid. This means repaying an amount equal to $420,000 in Ada.
Additional treasury donation
Has the full $420,000 USD value already been repaid in Ada? And was income from Pro plan sales above $420,000 in the last 12 months?
If yes, we will donate 50% of the income above $420,000 to the treasury. We will do this until an additional $210,000 worth of Ada has been donated to the treasury.
Transparency
Every paid Pro plan will be recorded on-chain with metadata. We will publish a report on Pro plan earnings. We will also publish the treasury repayment and donation transaction hash.
Administrative Remarks
Tastenkunst GmbH will be the treasury fund administrator for this proposal. This proposal is not milestone-based. It ensures funds availability for a 12-month period.
Summary
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Treasury ask | ₳2,350,000, at $0.1787 per Ada |
| Delivery period | 12 months |
| Schedule | August 2026 to July 2027 |
| Proposal lead | Marcel Baumberg |
| Submitting entity | Tastenkunst GmbH, Eternl |
| Team | 10 people contribute to Eternl. This proposal funds 6.0 FTE at $70,000 per FTE. |
| Administrator | Tastenkunst GmbH |
Impact
Eternl is one of the primary gateways for Cardano's power. Its maintenance and further development assure reliable access to the blockchain.
Core Cardano KPIs Alignment
| KPI | Alignment | Description |
|---|---|---|
| TVL | partially | DeFi users often manage their positions through Eternl. Providing them with reliable access to their daily business indirectly enhances TVL. |
| Monthly transactions | partially | 10-18% of transactions on Mainnet are conducted via Eternl. The Cardano Vision 2030 proclaims a 324M annual transaction goal. Eternl does its part to reach that goal. |
| Active Wallets (MAU) | partially | Eternl supports 66 languages and is available on numerous mobile and desktop platforms. New users can start their Cardano journey on reliable infrastructure. |
Pillars
| Pillar | Alignment | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Pillar 1: Infrastructure & Research Excellence | partially | Resilient and reliable access to Cardano, independent of FE or VC influence, is crucial. Eternl has provided this access across several platforms with basically zero downtime for over 5 years. |
| Pillar 2: Adoption & Utility | partially | Eternl provides a vast feature set for power users and newcomers alike, enabling all possible protocol and smart contract interactions. |
| Pillar 3: Governance | partially | Eternl provides independent in-app governance tools that let DReps vote directly on proposals. Ada holders can browse active proposals and see how DReps have voted. It is currently the only wallet offering a comprehensive governance UI. Btw. This proposal was completely created and posted in the upcoming Eternl version with governance enhancements. |
| Pillar 4: Community & Ecosystem Growth | partially | We believe that Eternl is the wallet of choice for many developers building on Cardano. We will continue building out the developer tools in the app. |
| Pillar 5: Ecosystem Sustainability & Resilience | Not applicable | - |
FAQ
Will you be voting on your own proposal?
The Eternl DRep will abstain from this proposal.
What income streams do you have?
Eternl charges a small service fee on transactions of 100 Ada or above in its DApp Browser and the MonsterSwap feature. In the current low-volume, low-price environment, those fees have been insufficient to cover costs, which is why we need to introduce paid plans as a more reliable source of income.
Why didn't you introduce paid plans earlier?
We had hoped for a stronger market and for the Ada price to stay above $0.50, but that didn't happen. Our goal was to earn enough in service fees to be sustainable and to provide all Eternl features and updates for free to all users.
Will the service fees or Tastenkunst's other income streams be taken into account when calculating the treasury payback?
No. The service fees cover rent for our small office, accounting costs, legal costs, and other expenses, such as software licenses.
Will Eternl be open-source?
The main UI will not be open-source. We will publish some libraries that we use in Eternl via the npm registry: https://www.npmjs.com/org/eternl
If the Ada price is above $0.1787 when you convert the funds, what will you do?
We will only keep $420,000 in stablecoins; the remaining Ada will be returned to the treasury.
Eternl got Treasury funds in the last budget process. How did that go?
In the 2025 budget process, we requested ₳583,000 ($408,000) for 12 months of operations. We valued Ada at $0.70 in last year’s proposal.
Due to the decrease in the Ada price, we have not received the expected amount; to date, we are about $153,000 short of the proposed amount. That’s the main reason we have to submit this proposal to ensure continuity for the team as we introduce the long-planned Pro mode.
What will happen if Eternl does not get treasury funds?
Paid plans will help us understand whether Eternl can become self-sustaining under current market conditions. If we do not sell enough licenses beyond August, we will have to let go of our developers, scale Eternl down to essential maintenance, and shift our focus to work outside the Cardano ecosystem.
We want to keep Eternl available. But without enough funding, we may have to remove the free option and focus on users who support Eternl with paid licenses. This would mean a smaller team, fewer resources, and less resilient infrastructure. As a result, new features and support may be affected.
What's Coming Up for Eternl in the Coming Months?
Eternl Core
A complete rewrite of Eternl's core, which has been in development for a few months. We implemented our own CBOR library in TypeScript, to be published under BUSL-1.1 later this year, and replaced CSL across the entire codebase. Faster transaction building and more flexibility for future feature additions. This also means a snappier interface and better loading times.
Eternl Hub
Safely connect any Eternl app to any other Eternl app, e.g., an extension to a mobile app, or to devices of family or coworkers. Share wallets and settings. Even share wallets temporarily. Users can forward signing requests, e.g., create a transaction on the extension and sign it on a mobile device, or vice versa. We have many more features planned for Hub, like better DApp connections, and for that, we will introduce a CIP and make Eternl Hub open-source.
Enhanced Hardware Wallet Support
We will add more hardware wallet providers, enabling them to add fully featured Cardano support on their devices. Additionally, Eternl mobile apps will support Bluetooth connections and gain support for Ledger, OneKey, and Trezor, coming in v2.1.
Enhanced Wallet Data Export
Create entities, e.g., companies or individuals, and export data that combines all entities' accounts into a single view, saving hours of manual processing of intra-entity transactions.
Maintenance and Continued Development
Backend Infrastructure & Operations
- Resilient multi-region server setup
- Cardano node operation, including Hardfork upgrades
- Chain indexers (DBSync) on PostgreSQL
- Application servers for syncing, translations, stakepool data, governance data, smart contract data, scam token registry, and transaction submission endpoints
- Metadata aggregation for assets, governance, and pools across multiple data sources
- Backend services for upcoming Eternl Hub features
- 24/7 monitoring, alerting, and incident response across multiple servers
Frontend Maintenance & Cross-Platform Development
- Cross-platform shipping: Chrome extension, Web App/PWA, iOS, Android, plus a public beta channel
- Continuous security-critical upgrades
- CIP implementation as new standards emerge: dApp connector (CIP-30), NFT standards, new connection types, L2 support in the future
- Implementation and testing of new Hardfork features. Especially fundamental changes coming up with Dijkstra and Leios.
- Multisig wallet creation, configuration, and signing flows, transaction sharing
- dApp interoperability across the broader Cardano dApp ecosystem
- App Store and Play Store compliance, especially Apple's review cycles
- Hardware wallet support: Ledger, Trezor, OneKey, Keystone, more coming, tracking firmware updates from each vendor
- Bluetooth hardware wallet support, with mobile Bluetooth expansion in progress
Enhancing Governance Tooling
- DRep dashboards and proposal browsers
- Enhancing in-wallet voting on governance actions
- Ongoing expansion of voter and DRep tooling, e.g., creating governance proposals directly in Eternl
User Support
- Discord-based ticketing as the primary channel, plus a maintained Telegram channel
- Bug triage and direct assistance are handled by the development team
- Community-supported help in public channels
- 1-on-1 support channels with many ecosystem projects
- Maintenance and enhancement of the Eternl Wiki through adding to the knowledge base and producing short educational videos
Day-to-Day Operations
- Release management across all distribution channels
- Coordination with hardware wallet vendors, dApp developers, and CIP authors
- Internal code review and ongoing security practices
History of Catalyst Grants and Treasury Grants
Catalyst
- #900103 - "Enable Eternl" (Fund 9) - $90,000
- #900102 - "Evolve Eternl" (Fund 9) - $90,000
- #900203 - "Translate Eternl" (Fund 9) - $46,000
- #1000157 - "Enable Eternl - F10" (Fund 10) - ₳554,000
- #1000081 - "Eternl - Accessible Multi-sig - F10" (Fund 10) - ₳69,200
- #1000197 - "Cardano knowledge base - F10" (Fund 10) - ₳20,800
Intersect
- "Update Eternl to implement CIP-95" - ₳70,000
Treasury Withdrawal
Tastenkunst GmbH was the recipient of treasury funds from the 2025 budget process. The funding period for this proposal ends in July 2026.
- "Withdraw ₳583,000 for Eternl Maintenance administered by Intersect"
https://adastat.net/governances/8ad3d454f3496a35cb0d07b0fd32f687f66338b7d60e787fc0a22939e5d8833e10
Rationale highlights
Why some of the largest DReps voted for and against, in their own words. About vote rationales
I vote YES for "Eternl: Path to Sustainability - v2" for the same reasons as last time.
「Eternl: Path to Sustainability - v2」について前回の投票と同様の理由でYESを投票します。
The Cardano Foundation votes YES on this resubmitted proposal. We recognize Eternl as important ecosystem infrastructure and view its repayment-linked structure as a credible bridge towards self-sustainability. A PDF version of this rationale is also made...
The Cardano Foundation votes YES on this resubmitted proposal. We recognize Eternl as important ecosystem infrastructure and view its repayment-linked structure as a credible bridge towards self-sustainability.
A PDF version of this rationale is also made available.
As this action has been resubmitted without any material differences, the rationale provided below contains our prior arguments in favour of this proposal.
Eternl is one of the principal non-custodial gateways for payments, staking, DApp interaction, and governance, currently offering one of the most comprehensive in-wallet voting and DRep tooling experiences.
Our decision to support this proposal is driven by the following factors:
- Ecosystem Utility: Eternl supports web, browser extension, Android, and iOS users, and the proposal describes ongoing maintenance across frontend, backend, support, and operations. We view this as relevant infrastructure for Cardano users, developers, and dApp interactions. The proposal also includes continued work on governance tooling, including DRep dashboards, proposal browsing, and in-wallet voting functionality, which aligns with our interest in accessible and usable governance.
- Transition Toward Sustainability: The proposal does not present treasury funding as a permanent operating model. It describes a 12-month funding period from August 2026 to July 2027 and a planned Pro subscription model for personal and company users to generate sufficient income to reach self-sustainability. The stated target is approximately 5,500 paying users, or about 4.2% of the reported install base, to cover the annual operating cost of approximately $420,000. We view this as a meaningful attempt to transition away from recurring ecosystem funding, while recognizing that execution risk remains.
- Repayment-Oriented Structure: The on-chain withdrawal requests 2,350,000 ada, which the proposer frames as approximately $420,000 at $0.1787 per ada. The proposal states that the full amount will be converted into stablecoins and placed in a public company wallet, and that surplus funds and future Pro plan income will be assessed every December and June for treasury repayment and later donation. While this is not the same as a milestone-based disbursement or an externally administered repayment mechanism, it is a more constructive funding structure than a simple grant.
- Budget Scope and Continuity: The proposal funds 6.0 FTE at $70,000 per FTE for a 12-month operating period, covering frontend, backend, support, administration, and audits. We consider the requested scope understandable for a cross-platform wallet with backend infrastructure, user support, app store obligations, hardware wallet support, and Cardano protocol compatibility requirements.
The Cardano Foundation votes YES. Our support is based on Eternl’s practical importance to Cardano users and the proposal’s stated path toward paid-plan sustainability and treasury repayment. We encourage the team to provide clear public reporting on fund custody, Pro plan adoption, and any repayments, so the community can assess whether this transition model is working.
NOTE on 'Internal Voting':
The fields constitutional and unconstitutional below reflect the CF governance teams' individual opinions whether they are for or against the proposal. Reason for this inconsistency is, that CIP-136 is at the moment only applicable to CC rationales, but we want to record the internal opinions of our DRep assessment transparently as well.I'm voting No on the Eternl: Path to Sustainability - v2 proposal. First off, I clearly recognize Eternl's role in the ecosystem. A big share of mainnet transactions go through it, it has run reliably for over five years, and it offers the most complete...
I'm voting No on the Eternl: Path to Sustainability - v2 proposal.
First off, I clearly recognize Eternl's role in the ecosystem. A big share of mainnet transactions go through it, it has run reliably for over five years, and it offers the most complete in-app governance UI of any wallet, so as a DRep I feel its value firsthand.
Even so, I can't get behind the fundamental structure, for three reasons.
Eternl is a closed-source commercial product. Treasury funding makes sense when the result comes back to the ecosystem as a public good. If Eternl were open-source, so anyone could build on and verify it, there'd be a solid case.
But the main UI stays closed and only some libraries are published. Something sustained by public funds while its core output stays private is hard to accept.
Not building a sufficient revenue model until now was the team's own business decision, and the consequences are theirs to bear. Delaying monetization was a bet on the market, and now that it didn't pan out, the funding gap is being handed to the community treasury.
Bankrolling a private company's runway to launch a paid product isn't what the treasury is for.
The repayment terms are hard to accept too. It only commits to repaying when paid-plan income and remaining funds exceed costs. That means if the business does well, the support wasn't needed, and if it does poorly, repayment never happens. For lending out treasury funds to make sense, there should at least be an unconditional commitment to repay.
To sum up, this proposal asks the community to bankroll a paid-subscription business while promising self-sustainability, and ties repayment to that same business succeeding.
This isn't a denial of Eternl's value. It's that I can't agree with this structure, so I'm voting No.
I am voting No on this proposal. This year's Net Change Limit (NCL) has been set well above the level I consider sustainable. Under my published voting framework, an appropriate NCL is roughly 15% of the previous year's staking rewards (on the order of...
I am voting No on this proposal. This year's Net Change Limit (NCL) has been set well above the level I consider sustainable. Under my published voting framework, an appropriate NCL is roughly 15% of the previous year's staking rewards (on the order of ₳82M), whereas the NCL currently in force is several times that amount. Because the treasury is already authorized to disburse far beyond my personal NCL threshold, I am voting No on all treasury withdrawal proposals until aggregate withdrawals are brought back within a sustainable limit — regardless of the individual merits of any single proposal. This vote reflects a position on total treasury spend, not a judgment on the value of your specific project. Reference: https://coffeepool.jp/notes/drep-voting-framework-for-sustainable-ecosystem/ [Japanese version follows] 本提案に反対票を投じます。今年のNet Change Limit（NCL）は、私が持続可能と考える水準を大幅に上回って設定されています。公開済みの投票フレームワークでは、適正なNCLは前年のステーキング報酬の約15%（₳82M程度）ですが、現行のNCLはその数倍に達しています。トレジャリーは既に私のpersonal NCL（個人として許容する上限）を大きく超える出金が認められている状態にあるため、出金総額が持続可能な範囲に戻るまで、個別提案の良し悪しに関わらず、すべてのトレジャリー出金提案に反対票を投じます。本投票はトレジャリー支出全体に対する立場の表明であり、貴提案の価値そのものを否定するものではありません。参照: https://coffeepool.jp/notes/drep-voting-framework-for-sustainable-ecosystem-jp/