Gov Action

Amaru is an open-source project building a new, **fully interoperable block-producing node** that improves the overall accessibility and robustness of the Cardano network without compromising its safety and security. Amaru provides another perspective and solution for stake pool operators and developers alike, prioritizing **low hardware requirements** and a seamless user experience. The project is implemented primarily in Rust and aims to attract new contributors to the ecosystem's core maintenance. This is our second treasury withdrawal proposal, following [a successful budget](https://explorer.cardano.org/governance-action/gov_action1h4ygjv0hjfj3lmafcm76rpdzcm8vsvj9k5wejn3npyxwxm3fesnqqw9kxxz) and [treasury withdrawal](https://explorer.cardano.org/governance-action/gov_action1vrkk4dpuss8l3z9g4uc2rmf8ks0f7j534zvz9v4k85dlc54wa3zsqq68rx0) in mid-2025. We will recap what we have accomplished so far, thanks to this first allocation, and break down the objectives, scope, and timelines for 2026.

Before we dive further into the details and cost breakdown, here is a high-level view of the ask, some assumptions we are making, and the general direction of this withdrawal request. #### 2025 Retrospective We provide a [full retrospective of our 2025 roadmap](ipfs://bafkreihjsdpolefycwjt75nnslqdbweu5pcyffzv6pjuknpc7bldmp2ch4) in annex of this document. This includes a head-to-head comparison with the roadmap items presented last year with their corresponding deliveries. #### Duration & Milestones This proposal spans over **12 months**, from January to December 2026, throughout which there will be several deliveries, demos, and workshops. Amongst the key deliveries, we note: - a relay-capable node in Q1 2026; - an upcoming intra-era hard fork integration (likely in Q1 2026, although the exact hard fork date is still uncertain at the moment of writing this proposal); - a block-producing node by the end of Q2 2026; - experiments and prototypes throughout the year covering planned improvements to the protocol (i.e., Leios, Peras, Phalanx, Decentralized Messaging Queue…); - key integrations such as StarStream or Midgard in the second half of the year. Due to governance restrictions on Cardano (e.g. insufficient net change-limit), we've had to postpone this proposal to later in the year. Yet, activities did not stop in 2026. We'll thereby retroactively use some of that budget for the earliest part of 2026. This explains why this budget still covers 12 months: it includes January and February 2026. #### Total Budget Ask The total ask is **`₳10,142,000`** (covering a USD budget of **`$3,042,500`**) for 2026. The full budget breakdown is given below. All scopes are estimated in _FTE_ (Full-Time Equivalent) based on an average hourly market rate. Having now a year of dealing with contractors and service providers in our ecosystem we came to the average hourly rate of around `$108` which gives us a figure of`$225k` annual billable rate. We (still) use a conservative conversion rate of `0.5` ADA [`₳`] per USD [`$`]. This rate is based on a weighted-average price calculation over the past 2 years, resulting in a price range of `$0.5` to `$0.6`. We _“bearishly”_ consider the lower end of that range. > **NOTE**: Is `$225k` a realistic number? > > The `$225k` yearly price tag may seem like a lot if taken out of context. We think it requires further clarification: > > - Amaru is _a critical, hyper-specialised software component_ in a rather niche industry. Finding experts who can navigate those waters is hard and expensive. > - There are precedents that serve as reference points and helped us size our target annual billable rate: > - [_'Input Output Engineering Core Development Proposal for 2025'_](https://explorer.cardano.org/governance-action/gov_action13tfag48nf94rtjcdq7c06vhkslmxxw9h6c88sl7q5g5nnewcsvlqz6d98zp): `$302k-$346k` yearly per FTE (`$48.4M` for 140-160 FTE). > - [_'TWEAG’s Proposals for multiple core budget projects for Cardano 2025'_](https://explorer.cardano.org/governance-action/gov_action13tfag48nf94rtjcdq7c06vhkslmxxw9h6c88sl7q5g5nnewcsvlqudh2k4c): `$332k` yearly per FTE (`$160` hourly rate). > - [_'MLabs' proposal for Core Tool Maintenance & Enhancement: Plutarch_](https://explorer.cardano.org/governance-action/gov_action13tfag48nf94rtjcdq7c06vhkslmxxw9h6c88sl7q5g5nnewcsvlq63cfnf0): `$285k` yearly per FTE (`$192k` for 1400 hours, so `$137` hourly rate). > - [_'Midgard's proposal for Optimistic Rollups'_](https://explorer.cardano.org/governance-action/gov_action13tfag48nf94rtjcdq7c06vhkslmxxw9h6c88sl7q5g5nnewcsvlqqfgyy3v): `$215k` yearly per FTE. > - [_'Scalus's proposal for DApps Development Platform'_ ](https://explorer.cardano.org/governance-action/gov_action13tfag48nf94rtjcdq7c06vhkslmxxw9h6c88sl7q5g5nnewcsvlpz4s2af8): `$190k` yearly per FTE. > - Contributors paid by the treasury _aren’t employees_, and the amounts paid aren’t salaries. This is more akin to consulting/contractor work and must factor in social security, vacation time, management overhead, schedule gaps, and so forth. > - Contributors are also not on a payroll, and they have _little guarantee of uninterrupted payments_: > - There’s no guarantee the next Amaru withdrawal will be accepted, so their jobs are constantly at risk. > - They are only paid if they deliver on their milestones (which means, no payouts should they get sick or unable to work, for example) > - They are subject to the tides of Cardano governance and the intricacies of receiving money from a Blockchain. For example, some Amaru contributors haven’t been paid for multiple months while we were sorting out the legal framework around this treasury management. #### Transition Into 2026 and 2025's Leftovers Thanks to good management of our 2025 treasury (and a bit of luck with the market), we were able to fully fund our planned activities through the end of 2025 with only a fraction of the allocated funds, without resorting to our contingency. As planned, the **leftovers from the Amaru treasury have been sent back to the Cardano treasury**: - [Consensus = ₳11.90k](https://explorer.cardano.org/tx/9bdd86ac951af6aae0bcf12afc7d84149f991b31daaed6d2d95239a6c37023a5) - [Ledger = ₳168.75k](https://explorer.cardano.org/tx/e54fdd5ad3cf91a7d34da2b9c795a1a841b9c727c44935bdc83af349e5ca080d) - [Marketing = ₳39.75k](https://explorer.cardano.org/tx/80ac843c71d5c4933877ab671bf377b34bc90abfc4df8287a3e92af806152c48) - [Mercenaries = ₳400.00k](https://explorer.cardano.org/tx/c05d3cffea09c5f4b2f8613ff8524c1c3c7aab82b88e57965c86dc0f34d8f2ed) - [Contingency = ₳300.00k](https://explorer.cardano.org/tx/2d8871c264e32bef3ad728738beba5a8b4c78edccaf51e8c3ab693ff697f21fc) Note that at the moment of writing this proposal, we still have a few remaining late 2025's invoices; which explains why some treasury addresses aren't fully empty yet. They are provisions for the already signed quotes that will be paid out soon. With 2025 now over and as provisioned in our budget, we have also mandated an external firm to audit Amaru's finances. Once ready, the full audit report will be made publicly available and shared on social channels. #### Treasury Management Transparency As in our first treasury withdrawal, we use [a smart contract](https://github.com/pragma-org/amaru-treasury) to manage the treasury and control its expenditures. We will also likely secure the treasury with (Cardano native) stablecoins whenever possible and relevant to keep its value safe from market volatility until the final payment to contributors is made. Furthermore, every expense will continue to be logged in [a public journal](https://github.com/pragma-org/amaru-treasury/tree/main/journal#journal), ultimately traceable on-chain.