Cardano said it can deploy more than $100 million in ecosystem funding this year despite a recent drop in its market-cap ranking.

On July 25 local time, blockchain outlet The Crypto Basic reported that Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson (찰스 호스킨슨) said the network’s on-chain treasury continues to generate funding needed for long-term growth.

In an interview with The Starting Block, Hoskinson acknowledged that Cardano’s market value has fallen to about $6 billion, pushing it out of the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalisation. He said it still has sufficient financial capacity to provide a budget of more than $100 million for ecosystem development this year.

Cardano’s treasury is built through its blockchain economic model. Part of network revenue and part of protocol inflation flow into the on-chain treasury, and the community votes on how funds are allocated under the governance system. Hoskinson said the treasury can support a budget of more than $100 million this year.

Spending targets were presented as software development, infrastructure upgrades, research, developer tools and education programs. Funds can be allocated to various projects that strengthen the Cardano network.

Hoskinson also said the treasury is already delivering visible results. He said more than 30 to 40 companies are participating in product development, protocol improvements, decentralised application development and infrastructure expansion with support from the treasury. As a result, Cardano is shifting away from a structure that relies only on its initial developer, Input Output Global (IOG).

Some treasury allocation cases have also been disclosed. IOG submitted nine treasury proposals early this year seeking close to $50 million in funding. Only some of the proposals did not win community approval.

EMURGO also received support worth about $793,000, equivalent to 3.3 million ADA, as funding to take charge of Cardano’s on-site operations at the TOKEN2049 event. EMURGO later stepped down from Pentad, and the role was transferred to the Cardano Foundation.

In the market, Cardano’s treasury structure and its token price trend are diverging. Cardano is currently ranked 16th with a market capitalisation of about $5.89 billion and a price of $0.1616. It is outside the top 10 by market cap, but Hoskinson maintained optimism that it can return to the top 10 before year-end.

Whether the ranking actually recovers depends on the overall market trend. Cardano’s key point is that it has a structure that can continue supplying development funding through the on-chain treasury regardless of token weakness, rather than focusing on a price rebound itself.