𝐀𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐚 𝐏𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐲

Hi @ItsDave_ADA, I’m writing this now—on a Sunday—because I saw your post about stepping back from Midnight content. We cannot afford another "Cardano Whale" situation where we lose a vital community voice because of friction or a lack of clarity. I listened to the snippet from @IOHK_Charles. I think he's trying to help diffuse so I am grateful for his ongoing support of @emurgo_io . I had intended to wait until Monday (in Singapore to respond) as I wanted to learn all of the issues that community cared most about. To be honest, I know I won't be able to satisfy everyone. There are some people who just want to see us fail (or just post for memes or attention). But... You, Cardano Yoda @JaromirTesar , and others are the reason this ecosystem has a soul. You fight because you care, and you’re pushing for something the "real world" rarely offers: true transparency and fairness. I want you to know that I don’t just hear you; I recognize the validity of what you’re and others like @dori_coin are saying. To be completely candid, I have been having active discussions with the Cardano Foundation @Cardano_CF about the very issues you’ve raised. I’ve been contemplating capping or even reducing Emurgo’s voting power to ensure we don’t become a point of centralization. Fred @F_Gregaard can attest to this—in fact, he recently directed me to a university professor specializing in blockchain governance. I spoke with him last week and asked him the same tough questions you’re asking me. His response actually surprised me, and it's changed how I'm looking at the problem. There is a formal paper coming out in a couple of months that explores this exact dynamic on Cardano. While I know that feels "too late" for the current heat of the moment, I’ve committed to having Yoroi participate in the study so we can use data, not just intuition, to fix this. To address your two main points directly: Decentralization & Emurgo's Power: I agree that a founding entity holding too much sway is antithetical to our core tenets. I am open to concessions here. Still there has to be a place for casual ADA holders to delegate to DReps who actually vote (everytime), who provide rationales, and who can be held accountable (like what you are doing now). For better or worse, we are one of those places. Still, I think the more important concession to make is the one below. Yoroi UI/UX: You are 100% right. It should be easier to find and select diverse DReps. We shouldn't be "defaulting" into a position of power through better placement; the tech should empower community choice. I believe @Cerkoryn even wrote some scripts on this. My tech team told me about so we are looking into it. What I will tell you is this... I will commit to building an easier governance centre for @YoroiWallet where choosing other DRep is at least a drop down menu or click. I will direct a squad on Monday to review @Cerkoryn scripts and if they are easy to implement (and back tested as safety is the most important thing for a wallet), we will either work to deploy them or do better. I will also put a pause (by disabling the delegation) on @YoroiWallet accumulating any more voting power until the governance centre is complete. I am not a technologist so I don't know if that requires us to resubmit to Apple Store or Google Play, so I will get you an update on Monday after I speak with the tech team. I just need you to know the intent is there. The governance centre will take a couple of sprints but I will publicly commit to fixing it. I also have a serious ask for you @ItsDave_ADA @JaromirTesar and others in the community: once we address the above Emurgo, how do we address the rest of the top 25? Alliances will form or have formed. Outside entities will enter who may not have best interest of the community at heart. If we don't solve the underlying mechanism, we’re just kicking the can down the road until a truly malevolent actor comes along to extract value. Furthermore, how do we reach the 75% who don't vote? If they stay silent, the fate of Cardano is left to 10–15 DReps —which I know is the last thing you want. The professor shared that voter apathy is actually the biggest issue to governance. We see this IRL too. Anyways, that's for another day. Next Steps: Let's talk IRL: Twitter is great for a voice, but irl is where we solve problems. I’d like to jump on a call with you to dive deeper. Feel free to DM me. I can do the same. I sincerely hope you are willing to talk. We are not fully AI bots yet. :) Open Table: We should invite Cardano Yoda and whoever else you feel brings a fresh, open-minded perspective. I actually welcome it and we should record it so it's on the record. Common Ground: Our goal is the same—a Cardano where founding entities matter less over time, and the community matters more. You aren't on a witch hunt; you're vested in our success. I see this clearly. Let’s work together to make sure that success is actually decentralized.