Cardano Foundation Releases Guiding Ethos and Principles To Maintain a Thriving and Decentralized Ecosystem

10 October 2024 • Press Releases
A professional headshot of Renagh Mooney.
Renagh Mooney
Global Communications Director

Ethos for Ecosystem Governance include Collaboration, Innovation, Integrity, Transparency, and Sustainability

[Zug, Switzerland, Thursday, 10th October 2024] — Cardano Foundation, an independent, Swiss-based not-for-profit organization tasked with advancing the public digital infrastructure of the Cardano blockchain, released ‘Our Cardano’ today, outlining its guiding ethos and principles to maintain a thriving and decentralized ecosystem. ‘Our Cardano’ provides ​​stakeholders with a clear understanding of the Foundation’s approach to governance and ecosystem participation in its ongoing commitment to upholding the principles of openness, integrity, and community engagement.

Frederik Gregaard, CEO of the Cardano Foundation, said, "By creating ‘Our Cardano’, we aim to set forth the Cardano Foundation’s vision for the future of the Cardano blockchain in a way that reflects the diverse voices and aspirations of the community. It comes at a critical and exciting juncture in the history of our technology. This is a testament to the Foundation’s commitment to decentralized governance and ultimately the long-term success of the Cardano infrastructure."

Cardano Foundation Ecosystem Ethos

Cardano Foundation’s Ethos guides its decisions and actions as an active participant in the Cardano ecosystem and its governance. ‘Our Cardano’, designed to foster trust and collaboration, is built on six key ethos values that reflect its commitment to the ecosystem participants and its partners without prioritizing one over another.

  • Collaboration: Working closely with ecosystem members and partners to leverage collective knowledge and resources to strengthen Cardano.
  • Innovation: Continuously seek and embrace new ideas and technologies to drive ecosystem growth.
  • Integrity: Uphold high ethical standards, best practices, and take responsibility for the Foundation’s actions.
  • Transparency: Promoting openness to build trust and encourage engagement.
    Inclusivity: Fostering an inclusive environment for diverse perspectives and backgrounds to ensure the ecosystem benefits from a wide range of experiences and ideas.
  • Sustainability: Promoting sustainable practices to build a future-proof infrastructure, striving for our efforts to benefit generations to come.

Cardano Foundation Ecosystem Principles

Cardano Foundation's Ecosystem Principles represent our beliefs for a successful Cardano ecosystem. They outline the key elements to maintain a secure, inclusive, and sustainable blockchain network. By living up to its Principles, the Cardano Foundation aims to foster a transparent, decentralized, and resilient infrastructure that benefits all participants and promotes the adoption and growth of the Cardano ecosystem. Our Cardano is built on eight key principles:

  • Accessibility: The Cardano core protocol shall maintain its public and permissionless nature.
  • Governance: The governance processes of Cardano shall be accessible, transparent, decentralized, and adaptable.
  • Decentralization: Strive for the decentralization of Cardano infrastructure operations and governance without undue trade-offs with accessibility, economic sustainability, security and performance.
  • Security and Resilience: Cardano’s development and operation shall prioritize security, reliability, and resilience.
  • Scalability: The Cardano protocol shall implement scalable on-chain and off-chain solutions to meet network demands without sacrificing accessibility, economic sustainability, security, and performance
  • Economics: The implemented economic model shall promote Cardano’s long-term viability, economic stability, and sustainability.
  • Education: High-quality and open-source educational resources in multiple languages shall be freely available at low or no cost.
  • Core Development: The core infrastructure code of Cardano shall be developed in an open-source, collaborative methodology to promote security, resilience, and accessibility and to mitigate centralization risks.

To read Our Cardano in full, please visit here.