Intersect Development Update #71 - July 18
Welcome to Intersect’s Development Update #71. This week, Cardano governance reaches a pivotal moment as 39 Treasury Withdrawal actions go live on-chain, moving the community one step closer to achieving fully decentralized and transparent funding. DReps and the interim Constitutional Committee are now voting, with ratification unlocking milestone-based smart contracts governed by Intersect’s administration framework.
We also highlight newly released smart contract tooling, the Civics Committee’s roadmap and upcoming working groups, EMURGO’s launch of the Cardano Card, and Intersect’s presence at Rare Evo in August. Plus: an open-source maturity snapshot, updates on GovTool and the Developer Advocate Program, and a spotlight on enterprise member Blockdaemon.
Treasury Withdrawal Actions go on-chain!
Today marks a significant milestone for Cardano governance: Intersect has submitted 38 on-chain Treasury Withdrawal governance actions. Each of these proposals previously passed through a Budget Info Action and now moves into the final stage of the governance process. Delegate Representatives (DReps) and the Constitutional Committee (ICC) must now vote to determine which proposals will be funded. Each action requires a 67% supermajority of active DRep stake and the support of at least 5 out of 7 ICC members (adjusted for abstentions). Voting will remain open until the end of Epoch 576 (August 17, 2025), although proposals may be ratified sooner if the thresholds are met at an epoch boundary. You can read more about this here.
If approved, proposals will transition to delivery under Intersect’s administration. Vendors will be onboarded via traditional contracts that align with constitutional requirements and are connected to a secure smart contract framework developed in collaboration with Sundae Labs. These contracts encode milestone schedules directly on-chain, allowing for automated, conditional payments. Funds can be paused or returned if delivery expectations are not met. Oversight is enforced through a multi-signature process that requires sign-off from Intersect and an independent Oversight Committee, comprising five ecosystem entities, to ensure accountability and decentralization.
Earlier in the week, during an initial submission, a metadata formatting issue was identified with the Cardano signer, which affected the first of the treasury withdrawal actions submitted by Intersect for ‘Withdraw ₳45,217 for MLabs Core Tool Maintenance & Enhancement: Cardano.nix.’
The automatic signature verification process ensures the validity of governance actions. While the signature itself is valid, it did not cover the full metadata. GovTool builders have manually verified the signature and confirmed the action is genuinely from Intersect. They will mark this proposal accordingly in the interface so that DReps can cast votes with complete confidence.
This is the first time on-chain treasury funding will be executed through this fully audited process. Intersect will also support the community through guidance, tooling, and a series of vendor symposiums over the coming weeks. Ada holders are encouraged to check their delegation status, follow progress on GovTool and Cardano explorers, and ensure their chosen DRep is actively representing their views.
Smart Contract Tooling: What’s available and who's it for?
The Treasury Management Tooling Working Group has been focused on enabling smart contract-based transparency for Cardano treasury funds. In collaboration with IO engineering, Sundae Labs, and Xerberus-with audits by TxPipe and MLabs-the group has developed three core tools:
- On-chain smart contracts (SundaeLabs)
- A web-based admin dashboard (SundaeLabs)
- A financial analytics dashboard (Xerberus).
These tools enable funds to be managed transparently through smart contracts, with explicit permissions and full auditability. The admin dashboard enables budget administrators and vendors to manage TRSCs and track milestone payments. In contrast, the Xerberus dashboard visualizes all treasury fund flows and milestones, down to the vendor level. Together, these tools simplify community oversight and ensure accessibility of on-chain data, with open GitHub repos inviting community feedback and contributions for future enhancements. Read more here.
This week, the Civics Committee ratified its strategic roadmap for the second half of 2025, focusing on two core objectives:
- Fostering governance health,
- Delivering governance education across the Cardano ecosystem.
With a quorum met, committee members voted unanimously to approve the roadmap and initiate two dedicated working groups, one for each objective. These working groups will be open to all Intersect members and the wider Cardano community, with early discussions already surfacing ideas around better DRep support, participation incentives, and simplifying governance learning materials for newcomers.
As next steps, the committee will appoint leads for each working group and begin collaborating with other Intersect committees to explore shared priorities. A new tracking system for participation will also be introduced to support accountability and inclusivity.
Stay tuned for more updates from @IntersectCivics on X as these initiatives move forward.
After review and approval by both the Civics Committee and the Intersect Board of Directors, we aim to submit an Update on Committee governance action during Epoch 572, which is scheduled to run from July 23 to July 28, 2025.
This timeline ensures the new Constitutional Committee (CC) will be established before the current Interim Constitutional Committee's (ICC) mandate expires on September 6, while also allowing the 39 pending treasury withdrawal proposals to be handled by the current committee.
Ratification and activation
This governance action must be ratified by both Stake Pool Operators (SPOs) and Delegated Representatives (DReps). If ratified, the new committee will officially become active at the end of the subsequent epoch, ensuring a seamless and secure handover of constitutional oversight.
Introducing the Cardano Card by EMURGO
EMURGO has officially opened registration for its upcoming Cardano Card, a multifunctional crypto card designed to be the future of finance on the Cardano blockchain. The card will enable users to spend ADA, BTC, ETH, SOL, USDC, and USDT seamlessly worldwide, with more assets to be supported in the future.
The rollout begins with a custodial, multichain-compatible version, followed by a self-custodial solution, and eventually a yield-integrated product line, offering flexibility based on user preferences and jurisdictions.
But the Cardano Card goes beyond just spending. It aims to provide access to a broader suite of crypto-native financial services, including:
- Staking ada to earn potential rewards
- Borrowing stablecoins using ada as collateral
- Spending on-chain ada rewards
- Gaining eligibility for airdrops through active usage
- Maintaining complete control over your crypto assets
A portion of profits is intended to be donated to the Cardano Treasury, fueling long-term sustainability and network growth.
Register now to be among the first to get access: Cardano Card
Follow their X for updates: @thecardanocard
Rare Evo
The Intersect team is heading to Rare Dev & Governance Day on August 7 at Topgolf, Las Vegas! Join us for a full day of lightning talks, workshops, and governance discussions—plus some networking and golf to wrap it all up. It all kicks off with a relaxed social evening on August 6. Register here: https://lu.ma/52rggq6i
From builders to community voices, everyone’s welcome to tune in and stay connected to the momentum driving Cardano forward. Watch it live on YouTube – July Townhall.
Missed Session 1 of the Enterprise Forum?
No worries, we’ve got the replay ready! Dive into key insights on Web3, Cardano, and enterprise use cases. Watch here: YouTube – Web3 in Focus Session 1. Stay tuned; details for Session 2 will be announced soon!
Blockdaemon is a leading blockchain infrastructure platform connecting institutions to over 60 blockchain networks through a unified, enterprise-grade interface. From staking and node deployment to institutional-grade APIs and compliance tools, Blockdaemon enables secure and scalable access to blockchain networks, including Cardano.
Their platform is designed with financial institutions, custodians, exchanges, and developers in mind, offering a comprehensive suite of solutions that includes full node operations, on-chain analytics, MPC wallets, and liquid staking solutions.
As Cardano continues to grow in institutional adoption, Blockdaemon plays a key role in delivering the backend infrastructure that powers seamless connectivity and operational reliability. Follow on X: @BlockdaemonHQ
The governance tools working group keeps running twice a week to accommodate participants from different time zones. The Cardano Govtool Consortium, supported by the working group, continues to provide context and address questions regarding the budget information action submitted on-chain last week. There is currently positive support for the info action with 1.36B ‘Yes’ votes.
Questions that have been asked so far about the info action are being collected here.
Since the end of June, the contracts to maintain Govtool have expired. Still, the builders who have submitted the info action continue to ensure Govtool remains up and running and address any priority zero issues. This week, they added more clarity to the counting of SPO votes, including the ‘not voted’ stake, and supported troubleshooting related to the 39 treasury actions.
Alongside continuing the maintenance work, efforts to refine the next steps continue. You are welcome to participate in the discussions here.
Open Source
We have published our latest version of the monthly maturity report for June 2025, which can be found here: Monthly Maturity Report - June 2025
“June 2025 reflected a healthy stabilization period, marked by reduced surface-level activity and increased backend development. Contributor participation remained globally distributed, with repositories continuing to show a sustained focus on refinement and infrastructure. With core components under active development and new participants entering, Cardano’s open-source foundation remains strong and well-positioned for momentum in Q3.”
There is still time! We are looking for our second cohort of Developer Advocates! The Developer Advocate Program is now overseen by the Open Source Committee, bringing new ideas and experience to support the program's mission of incentivizing and supporting developers who actively participate in various initiatives, working groups, and community-building activities within the Cardano ecosystem.
Education & Experience
Development experience in the Cardano Ecosystem. (Contributions to be verified via Bitergia dashboard and/or GitHub Profile.)
- Minimum 1-3 years in a developer-facing technical role (developer advocate, code developer, engineer, or evangelist).
- Proven contributions to open-source communities and/or blockchain projects.
- Experience with GitHub, technical forums, and community support platforms.
- Proven ability to create various forms of content such as blogs, instructional videos, presentation slides, etc.
We will accept applications until July 31, 2025, 11:59 pm UTC.
Apply Now: Developer Advocate Application
We’re hiring: People & Culture Lead
Intersect is seeking a People & Culture Lead to help us build a thriving, values-driven team and enhance our capacity to serve Cardano’s community.
This role will focus on the upcoming transition of consultants through open recruitment, nurturing our culture, supporting career progression and professional development, and helping our staff do their best work. You’ll work closely with leadership to design people practices that align with Intersect’s mission and our servant-leadership ethos, empowering our members rather than directing them.
- HR experience with a passion for culture building
- Skilled in recruitment, career development, and team wellbeing
- Significant advantage: understanding of Cardano and decentralized communities
Apply now and help shape the future of Intersect.
That’s it for this week’s update. Thank you for reading. To learn more about Intersect’s work, explore our Knowledge Base, which provides detailed information on governance structures, committees, and funding. Additionally, visit the Intersect website for the latest news, updates, and roadmap information.
Join the conversation on Discord, and follow us on Twitter (X) and LinkedIn to engage with fellow members, working groups, and the broader community.Your voice helps shape the future of Cardano governance.