What does total decentralization actually mean for the ecosystem? IO Labs EVP Brandon Wolf sits down with @CryptoWendyO & @jasonappleton on Block//45 to share exactly how Cardano's core infrastructure becomes decentralized. From Ouroboros to Plutus, Hydra, and more. Watch the full interview below! 🧵

Cardano's protocol and governance are already decentralized. Now its engineering is too. “The last stage of the Voltaire era is full decentralization of node and reference blueprint development. Since 2024, IOG and its partners have carefully managed a process that will conclude in 2027 and will result in several independent firms maintaining at least three Cardano implementations in Haskell, Rust, and Go, alongside a complete set of formal specifications supervised by MBOs like Intersect and Pragma, and subject to community review and vote. I'm extremely proud that we have arrived at the final stage with IO Labs spinning out the Haskell Node to community curation and control. Our partners are ready, and the ecosystem now has many diverse options.” @IOHK_Charles

People massively underestimate demand for non margin loans. The pawn market alone is ~$40B despite terrible infrastructure and high costs. What most people in DeFi miss: Borrowers care more about lower payments than max LTVs. By offering lower LTVs, borrowers can negotiate lower interest rates while avoiding liquidation risk entirely. As Rusty Shapiro (@__fallen_icarus) explains, DeFi solved leveraged trading, not lending. Read the blog ↓