The Cardano Foundation, the nonprofit organisation that backs the Cardano blockchain, spent $15 million on initiatives aimed at boosting network usage across applications such as ballistic identification systems and a splashy football partnership with Barcelona FC.
Those initiatives represent the foundation’s most considerable expense last year, according to its financial insights report for 2024 released on Thursday, which offered a rare glimpse into the organisation’s finances.
Its total spend notched just over $29 million.
“The focus is on maintaining a sustainable balance between costs and income while maximising impact for the broader ecosystem,” Frederik Gregaard, CEO of the Cardano Foundation, said in a statement.
The report comes eight years after Ethereum co-founder Charles Hoskinson founded and launched Cardano. Despite Hoskinson’s star power and a cult-like following, the blockchain has struggled to achieve the same level of adoption as its peers.
Users have deposited around $300 million into decentralised finance apps on the blockchain, a fraction of the several billion in deposits achieved by competitors Solana and Tron.
The number of transactions Cardano handles sits at around 90,000 a day, down from highs of around 460,000 in early 2022, per Cexplorer data.
Eclectic adoption
It’s against that backdrop that the foundation spent $15 million to expand the real-world utility of Cardano.
That’s a lot of cash, but it’s not uncommon for blockchains to spend that much money to encourage usage.
Rival blockchain Polkadot spent almost $87 million in the first half of 2024, half of which went to marketing efforts, like paying influencers to promote the blockchain.
The initiatives the Cardano Foundation’s money went to were pretty eclectic, however.
Among the uses were the development of blockchain-based ballistic identification systems, digital identity solutions, real estate platforms, and even tracking solutions for NASA, according to the report.
Money also went toward several enterprise and institutional partnerships, including ones with Barcelona FC, Amnesty International, Swisscom, Syngenta Foundation, and the United Nations Development Programme.
Some funds also went to more conventional uses, such as supporting Cardano developers through the creation of several new developer tools.
Cardano’s adoption efforts contrast with most blockchain usage, which is financial in nature.
For example, on Ethereum, the crypto lending, stablecoin transfers, and swapping account for the vast majority of activity.
Long runway
The amount the Cardano Foundation spent in 2024 is small compared to its total holdings.
The foundation for the first time reported its finances using Reeve, an on-chain accounting tool.
According to Reeve, the foundation reported a $1.3 million net profit for 2024.
The majority of these profits came from sales of cryptocurrencies that the foundation holds.
It sold around $36 million worth of ADA and around $5.5 million worth of Bitcoin.
