이 제안서는 Cardano Treasury에서 5,000,000 에이다(₳) 예산 대출을 요청함.

목적은 Snek Foundation이 주도하는 Cardano Global Listing Expansion 전략을 지원하여 SNEK 토큰을 주요 중앙화 거래소, 소매 중개인, 거래 플랫폼에 상장하는 것임.

이 제안은 Cardano 거버넌스에서 최초의 대출 기반 재무 인출 모델로, 자금을 보조금이 아닌 이자를 포함해 상환하는 책임 모델을 도입함.

거버넌스 과정의 일환으로 Tal Cohen(전 Kraken CEO), Phillip Pon(Emurgo CEO), Fahmi Syed(Midnight Foundation 회장), Frederik Gregaard(Cardano Foundation CEO) 등 업계 고위 인사들이 포함된 자문위원회가 투명한 실행과 생태계 정렬을 보장하기 위해 임명될 예정임.

SNEK는 Cardano에서 가장 큰 커뮤니티 토큰으로, 시가총액이 가장 높고 42,000개 이상의 지갑과 20억 ADA 이상의 누적 거래량을 보유하고 있음.

지난 2년간 Snek Foundation은 450만 달러 이상을 자체 자금으로 투자해 Kraken, Crypto.com, Kucoin 등에서 Cardano 네이티브 토큰 최초의 Tier 1 상장을 달성하며 생태계에 역사적 선례를 세웠음.

이번 대출은 Snek 제품 수익과 사업에서 상환되며, 3~5년 내에 원금과 연 2.44% 복리 이자를 포함해 상환 완료 후 최종 감사가 진행될 예정임.

대출 구조를 통해 Snek Foundation은 재무 자본을 책임감 있게 운용하는 새로운 선례를 만들고 있으며, 예산 관리자 역할은 Intersect가 담당함.

이 제안은 Cardano 생태계 내에서 대출 기반 자금 운용의 첫 사례로, 향후 프로젝트에 지속 가능하고 책임 있는 자금 활용 모델을 제시함[5].

---

**주석**
₳: ADA 토큰 단위
Tier 1 listing: 최상위 등급 거래소 상장
복리 이자: 이자가 원금에 합산되어 다시 이자를 발생시키는 방식

Snek Foundation은 SNEK 생태계를 시작하고 운영하는 풀뿌리 조직임. 외부 자금 없이 29개월간 자체 수익과 재무로만 운영해왔음.

현재까지 Snek Foundation은 상장 활동에 450만 달러(₳) 이상을 자체 투자했음.

2023년 5월 이후 성과는 다음과 같음:

- 42,000개 이상의 지갑이 SNEK 보유, Cardano에서 가장 활발히 보유된 토큰임.

- 총 20억 ADA(₳) 이상의 누적 거래량으로 Cardano에서 가장 많이 거래된 토큰임.

- 30개 시장에 상장되어 Cardano 내외에서 가장 잘 알려진 토큰임.

- Kraken, Crypto.com, Kucoin 등 Tier 1 거래소 3곳에 최초로 상장 성공함.

- Flowdesk와 협력해 최초의 CEX-DEX 마켓메이킹 서비스 개발함.

- Cardano 대표 런치패드인 Snek.fun을 출시해 체인 거래량의 30% 이상을 견인함.

- 상표권 등록과 IP 라이선스 계약 진행 중임.

Snek 팀은 상장 협상, 도구 개발, 글로벌 밈 문화 확산에 성공적인 실적을 보유함.

이 제안의 중요성은 SNEK가 Cardano에서 가장 많이 채택된 토큰임에도 주요 중앙화 거래소에서 저평가되어 Cardano의 가시성과 경쟁력이 저하된다는 점임.

이로 인해 ADA의 글로벌 가시성 및 유동성, Cardano의 소매시장 경쟁력, 생태계 발견 가능성, CNT(카르다노 네이티브 토큰) 채택 등이 저해되고 있음.

Cardano에는 DOGE, SHIBA, PEPE처럼 거래소에서 유동성과 문화를 견인하는 대표 토큰이 부족함.

SNEK는 그 역할을 이미 증명했으며, 대규모 확장을 위해 지원이 필요함.

주요 도전 과제는 다음과 같음:

- 주요 중앙화 거래소들이 CNT를 지원하지 않아 Cardano 접근성과 경쟁력이 제한됨.

- ADA 거래쌍이 부족해 유동성과 거래량이 낮음.

- 밈코인들이 신규 사용자 유입과 참여를 촉진하는 역할을 하는데, SNEK도 Cardano에서 이 역할을 할 수 있음.

- 유동성 분산 문제로 DeFi 프로토콜 확장에 제약이 있음.

이 제안은 SNEK를 통해 Cardano가 글로벌 유동성과 가시성을 확보하고, 다른 CNT가 따라올 수 있는 확장 가능한 길을 만드는 것을 목표로 함.

SNEK는 현재 Tier 1 거래소 상장 요건을 충족하는 유일한 Cardano 네이티브 토큰임.

Snek Foundation은 Kraken 상장 이후 다른 프로젝트와 지식을 공유하며 Cardano 재단, Emurgo, IOG와 협력해 자원을 체계화할 계획임[1][2][3].

SNEK 재단은 5M 에이다(₳) 대출을 요청해 글로벌 거래소 상장 전략을 추진하고 있음.

이 자금은 중앙화 거래소, 소매 중개업체, 혁신적인 DeFi 플랫폼에서 SNEK와 ADA 거래쌍 상장을 확보하고, 유동성 공급 및 마켓 메이킹, 법률·컴플라이언스 비용, 홍보 캠페인, 투명한 지출 보고 등에 사용될 예정임.

이 사업은 ADA 유동성 증가, 카드라노 생태계 가시성 확대, 향후 카드라노 토큰(CNT) 상장 인프라 구축, 커뮤니티 기반 사용자 확보, DeFi·NFT·L2·dApp 자본 유입 촉진, 상장 절차 문서화 등 생태계 전반에 긍정적 영향을 줄 것으로 기대됨.

대출 조건은 5M ADA 원금, 연 2.44% 이자율, 5년 내 전액 상환이며, 3년 차에 독립 감사가 진행되어 상환 현황을 검토함.

대출 자금 관리는 Intersect가 담당하며, 외부 자문 위원회(전 크라켄 CEO, 카드라노 재단 CEO 등)도 운영되어 투명성과 생태계 이익을 보장함.

SNEK은 카드라노 네이티브 자산 중 가장 거래량이 많고 시가총액 2억 달러 규모이며, 4만 명 이상의 보유자와 60개 이상의 dApp 통합을 보유함.

SNEK는 이미 자체 자금으로 크라켄, 크립토닷컴 등 주요 거래소 상장을 달성했으나, 추가 상장 확대를 위해 카드라노 재단 자금 지원을 요청했음.

그러나 카드라노 창립자 찰스 호스킨슨은 SNEK 및 미드나이트 같은 프로젝트가 자체 자금으로 상장 비용을 충당해야 한다고 밝혀, 제안이 거부되어 논란이 일었음.

이 제안은 카드라노 생태계 전체의 인프라와 가시성 확대를 목표로 하며, 대출은 투명한 보고와 독립 감사를 통해 관리될 예정임.

요약하면, SNEK는 카드라노 내에서 가장 활발히 거래되는 네이티브 토큰으로, 글로벌 상장과 유동성 확대를 위해 5M ADA 대출을 요청했으나, 카드라노 창립자의 반대로 현재 논쟁 중임[1][2][3][4][5].

---

**주석**

- ADA: Cardano의 네이티브 암호화폐 단위

- CEX: 중앙화 거래소(Centralized Exchange)

- DeFi: 탈중앙화 금융(Decentralized Finance)

- dApp: 탈중앙화 애플리케이션(decentralized application)

- KYC: 고객 신원 확인(Know Your Customer)

- CNT: Cardano Native Token (카드라노 네이티브 토큰)

This proposal seeks a 5,000,000 ada budget loan from the Cardano Treasury to fund the Cardano Global Listing Expansion, a strategic initiative led by the Snek Foundation to list [SNEK](https://www.snek.com/) on top-tier centralized exchanges, retail brokers, and trading platforms. This proposal is the **first-ever loan-based treasury withdrawal** in Cardano governance, introducing a new model of accountability where funds are not given as grants but repaid with interest.

As part of the governance process, a Board of Advisors will be appointed to ensure transparent execution and maximize ecosystem alignment. This board will include high-profile industry veterans like Tal Cohen (former CEO of Kraken), Phillip Pon (CEO of Emurgo), Fahmi Syed (President of Midnight Foundation), and Frederik Gregaard (CEO of Cardano Foundation), with additional top-tier names to be announced.

*SNEK is the largest community token on Cardano, holding the highest market capitalization, over 42,000 wallets, and more than 2 billion ADA in all-time trading volume.*

Over the past two years, the Snek Foundation has already invested over $4.5 million, entirely self-funded, to secure major exchange listings. Snek delivered the first, second, and third-ever Tier 1 listings for any Cardano native token, with Kraken, Crypto.com, and Kucoin, setting historic precedents for the ecosystem. With this proposal and with the support of our partners, we aim to unlock greater visibility, liquidity, and accessibility for the broader Cardano ecosystem by leveraging SNEK's proven momentum and market position.

This loan will be repaid from Snek product revenues and business ventures with the final balance plus interest settled in three to five years, following a closing audit to confirm the loan has been repaid in full. Interest is set at 2.44% annualized (2.37% staking rate + 0.07%), compounded yearly.

By structuring this as a repayable loan, the Snek Foundation is once again trailblazing for the ecosystem; demonstrating how treasury capital can be deployed responsibly while setting a precedent for future projects. The administrator of the budget funds will be Intersect.

## Who we are

Snek Foundation is a grassroots organization responsible for launching and maintaining the SNEK ecosystem. Snek has never raised external funds for exchange listings and has operated for the past 29 months, entirely self-funded through its revenue and treasury.

So far, more than $ 4.5 million has been invested by the Snek Foundation towards listing activities.

**Since May 2023, Snek has:**

- 42,000+ wallets holding SNEK --- the most actively held token on Cardano

- 2,000,000,000 ADA in all-time trading volume --- the most traded token on Cardano

- SNEK is the most well-known token in and out of the Cardano ecosystem, with 30 markets

- Self-funded $4.5M for exchange listing activities

- Delivered the three first-ever Tier 1 exchange listings for Cardano via Kraken, Crypto.com, and Kucoin.

- Developed the first-ever CEX-DEX market-making service with Flowdesk

- Launched Snek.fun, Cardano's leading launchpad, driving over 30% of all chain trades since inception

- Trademarked brand with ongoing IP licensing deals (Snek Figures, Snek Energy)

The team has a successful track record negotiating listings, building tools, and driving global meme adoption aligned with Cardano's values.

## Why this proposal matters

SNEK is Cardano's most adopted token, yet it remains underrepresented on major centralized exchanges, reflecting a broader lack of visibility for Cardano on mainstream platforms and among broader audiences.

This underrepresentation doesn't just affect SNEK. It weakens Cardano's position in competitive markets and slows ecosystem-wide growth in four key areas:

1. ADA's visibility and liquidity on global platforms

2. Cardano's competitiveness in retail-driven market cycles

3. The discoverability of Cardano's ecosystem by mainstream users

4. CNT adoption and the path for other tokens to reach similar success

Cardano currently lacks a flagship token that drives liquidity, virality, and culture across exchange listings, just like DOGE, SHIBA, and PEPE do for Ethereum and Solana.

SNEK has already shown it can fill this role; now it needs support to break through at scale.

**This proposal aims to address the following challenges:**

- **Lack of exchange presence for Cardano native tokens:** Most major centralized exchanges and retail brokers still do not support Cardano Native Tokens (CNTs). This severely limits Cardano's accessibility and competitiveness on a global scale. While Ethereum and Solana ecosystems enjoy deep integrations with top exchanges, Cardano-native projects are left with fewer liquidity pathways and less discoverability. Until CNTs are more visible on mainstream platforms, Cardano's on-chain economy cannot reach its full potential.

- **Low visibility for ADA pairings:** Centralized exchanges are the primary entry point for millions of users, yet ADA trading pairs are underrepresented relative to Cardano's market cap. Without community-driven assets like SNEK creating demand for ADA pairings, liquidity remains shallow and volume muted. This proposal helps bootstrap those pairings, supporting deeper ADA liquidity and reinforcing Cardano's relevance at the trading layer.

- **Missed user acquisition:** In other ecosystems, memecoins like SHIB, DOGE, and PEPE have served as cultural gateways for millions of new retail users. These tokens create stories, engagement, and participation, driving demand for the base layer tokens and ecosystem tools. SNEK has proven it can play that role for Cardano. Without support to elevate its accessibility, Cardano risks missing this powerful user acquisition funnel.

- **Liquidity fragmentation:** Cardano's DeFi protocols face high barriers to liquidity aggregation due to the lack of bridgeable, on-ramp-compatible assets. Without listings on major exchanges, Cardano native assets remain siloed and isolated from the broader crypto capital flows, limiting scalability and adoption.

By funding this initiative, Cardano positions itself to solve these bottlenecks through a trusted, culturally strong and community-proven asset that can serve as a gateway for users and liquidity.

Today, Snek is the only Cardano-native token capable of meeting Tier 1 exchange requirements. This makes it the best and currently only viable gateway to unlock the access, liquidity, and visibility Cardano needs at the global level.

The goal is not exclusivity --- it's scalability. By leading the way through Snek, we create a repeatable path for other CNTs to follow. The foundation has already begun sharing its knowledge with other projects post-Kraken, and through this proposal, will continue building and systematizing resources that can be shared with Cardano Foundation, Emurgo, and IOG.

## Executive summary

The [SNEK](https://www.snek.com/) Global Exchange Expansion initiative will execute a targeted listing strategy, using the requested 5M ADA to:

- Finalize negotiations and secure multiple top-tier listings on centralized exchanges, retail brokers, and innovative DeFi platforms

- Provision liquidity and market making for ADA/SNEK pairs

- Cover legal and compliance costs to meet exchange requirements

- Fund mandatory coordination and announcement campaigns

- Report expenditures and impact transparently to the community

### Ecosystem Benefits:

- **Increase ADA liquidity across global trading platforms:** Listings will establish deep liquidity for ADA/SNEK pairs and reinforce ADA's role as a quote asset in broader markets.

- **Expand Cardano visibility among mainstream users:** Presence on Tier 1 CEXs and retail platforms will increase Cardano's exposure where most crypto adoption begins.

- **Establish reusable exchange infrastructure for CNTs:** This initiative creates the legal, technical, and operational framework that future Cardano tokens can leverage.

- **Lay the technical and legal groundwork for future Cardano token listings:** This initiative solves the hardest and most expensive part of Tier 1 onboarding the integrations, KYC, and compliance infrastructure that every CNT would otherwise need to build from scratch. Once completed, this framework can be reused by future projects, massively reducing the technical lift required for Cardano wide exchange access.

- **Drive user acquisition through proven community traction:** Snek's viral momentum helps Cardano tap into the same memecoin fueled onboarding funnels that propelled DOGE and SHIB.

- **Create liquidity bridges for DeFi, NFTs, L2s, and dApps:** Expanded listings make it easier to onboard capital and users into Cardano-native protocols:

- **Document and share listing playbooks with the ecosystem:** All compliance, negotiation, and integration learnings will be captured and shared with the Cardano Foundation and other token teams to accelerate future listings.

### Cardano Treasury and Governance:

- High ROI use of funds by leveraging SNEK as a magnet for adoption

- Support of a community-run initiative with a proven track record

- Back a team that has already invested more than $4.5 million of its own capital into this initiative, and remains committed to continued investment alongside community support.

The loan will only be used to cover necessary expenses to achieve key listings.

These costs can vary from one listing to another, but generally include:

- Listing Fees

- Liquidity Provisioning

- Legal & Compliance

- Marketing & Campaign budgets (led by the exchanges)

- Advisory & Transparency Ops

This loan will be repaid continuously to the treasury from Snek network activities and settled in full after no longer than 5 years from the reception of the funds.

## Loan terms

**Principal:** 5 million ADA

**Interest Rate:** 2.44% APR The loan will accrue interest at the current average Cardano staking rewards rate of 2.37% per year, plus an additional 0.07% as a gesture of good faith

**Repayment Timeline:** Repayments will be made continuously to the Cardano Treasury through multiple ways, including but not limited to: Snek product revenues and business ventures, with direct payments coming from the Snek Foundation treasury. Early payments may begin at any time and loan repayment must commence no later than the last day of year 3.

**Audit & Review:** At the end of year 3, an independent audit will be conducted to review the repayments already made. The audit will verify the amounts reimbursed to date, calculate any outstanding principal and interest, and establish a repayment schedule to ensure the full balance is repaid over the remaining years.

**Default & Enforcement:** In the unlikely event of non-repayment, the obligation will remain enforceable under the binding loan agreement administered by Intersect on behalf of the Treasury. Remedies and next steps would follow the terms of that contract.

**Loan Maturity:** The full loan (principal + interest) must be repaid in full within 5 years from the date of disbursement.

## Administration of the loan

The administrator of the budget funds will be Intersect, offering continuous oversight. Expenditures will be tracked against the stated use of funds, with reporting, receipts, and independent audits ensuring that spending remains aligned with the proposal's objectives. This approach provides the flexibility required to execute global listings while still offering the Treasury transparent, phased accountability.

Additionally, a Board of Advisors will be appointed to provide guidance, feedback, and external validation.

**The board will include:**

- Tal Cohen, former CEO of Kraken

- Frederik Gregaard, CEO of Cardano Foundation

- Phillip Pon, CEO of Emurgo

- Fahmi Syed, President of Midnight Foundation

- Rapha C-Roy, CEO of Snek Foundation

**The board's responsibilities:**

- Advise key expenses

- Guide negotiations and legal strategy

- Ensure alignment with Cardano treasury goals

- Ensure outcomes benefit the Cardano ecosystem beyond SNEK

- Support documentation and distribution of listing playbooks to future Cardano-native token teams

This structure ensures that the project benefits from experienced external input while maintaining decentralized, community-led control over treasury execution.

The Board will also help facilitate knowledge sharing across the ecosystem by supporting documentation of listing procedures, exchange engagement strategy, and compliance best practices, enabling other Cardano native projects to benefit from this groundwork.

An allocation of 30-50k ADA per year will be reserved out of the 5M for yearly independent external audit reports, ensuring that the loan is transparently monitored and fully accountable to the Treasury.

## Reporting

#### Bi-Yearly Reports

Snek Foundation will publish bi-yearly updates including:

- Progress on exchange listings

- Funds spent with receipts when allowed

- All legal/compliance materials will be open-sourced when possible

- Learnings from legal, compliance, and integration processes

- Results of independent external audits

#### Knowledge Sharing

All listing playbooks, integration frameworks, and documentation will be made available to the Cardano Foundation, Emurgo, IOG, and future token teams. Progress will be shared during regular Cardano town halls and across governance channels to maintain transparency and feedback loops to the best of our ability and within contractual regulations.

#

# Conclusion

The Snek Foundation has already proven its commitment to Cardano, investing over $4.5M of its own funds into the exact initiative now being proposed for co-funding. This request is not about raising capital for a single token; it is about funding infrastructure, visibility, and adoption for the entire Cardano ecosystem.

This is not a grant; it is a loan, to be repaid in full with interest, demonstrating our commitment to accountability and sustainability. With dedicated budget allocations for independent audits and transparent reporting, the Treasury will be able to monitor progress, repayments, and compliance throughout the loan term, ensuring this initiative delivers both measurable impact and accountability.

[SNEK](https://www.snek.com/) is currently the only Cardano-native asset that meets Tier 1 exchange requirements.

Supporting this proposal unlocks:

- Immediate listings with global reach

- Deep ADA pair liquidity

- Repeatable frameworks for future CNTs

The time to act is now.

The market is receptive, Snek has momentum, and the Cardano ecosystem is ready to scale its visibility. This proposal is how we turn years of effort into lasting, reusable infrastructure.

## Constitutionality checklist

#### Purpose

- This proposal is for work intended to enhance the security, decentralization and long-term sustainability of Cardano.

#### Article III.5: the process of on-chain governance

- Proposal is submitted in a legible, standardized format and includes rationale, budget, administration plan, and reporting framework.

#### Article IV.1: proposing budgets

- This proposal supports Cardano blockchain adoption, liquidity, and token infrastructure.

#### Article IV.2: funds administration

- This proposal specifies an administrator in accordance with this provision. The budget is administered and documented by a named party (Intersect), with oversight of an off-chain committee (board of trusted advisors).

#### Article IV.3: Net-Change Limit

- Being of ₳5M and covering the second half of 2025, this proposal and the treasury withdrawals it would enable do not violate the currently agreed upon Net-Change Limit.

#### Article IV.4: Auditor

- This proposal makes provisions for an auditor: An allocation of 30-50k ADA per year will be reserved for yearly independent external audit reports, ensuring that the loan is transparently monitored and fully accountable to the Treasury.

#### Guardrails

- This proposal is subject to TREASURY-04a in that it defines a Cardano blockchain ecosystem budget. It requires a threshold greater than 50% of the DReps' active voting stake to be considered approved and enable subsequent withdrawals pertaining to this budget.