IOR outlines a research framework for SPOs

Stake pool operators (SPOs) are the beating heart of Cardano — the network’s backbone on which the ecosystem expands. As we scale and grow, it’s essential that we support not just users, builders, and governance innovators, but also the SPOs who’ve helped carry the chain for half a decade.

As part of the Cardano 2025 Budget, Input | Output Research (IOR) joined the monthly SPOs call on May 1 to present the relevant R&D streams to SPOs. Their insights matter and should help shape the future as the community works collaboratively to improve what it means to be an SPO in this new era.

With decentralized governance now becoming a reality, SPOs — together with the wider community of delegate representatives (DReps) — will help lead the way in making the big decisions. While Input | Output has traditionally focused on long-term academic research, over the past 18 months IOR has continued to invest our efforts to connect fundamental research with real-world implementation, grounded in community needs. Projects like Leios and Peras are recent examples — combining deep technical work with community-driven innovation.

As part of this evolution, IOR is actively exploring new ways to engage more closely with the SPO community — finding the right channels, conversations, and collaborations to ensure their priorities are reflected in the future of the protocol. We’ve already started some early outreach and look forward to expanding this work together.

In the meantime, let’s take a look at some of the longer-term SPO and network-focused initiatives we’ve proposed in the 2025 roadmap under Cardano Vision.

SPO infrastructure security

Ensuring robust security for SPO infrastructure is vital for maintaining Cardano’s trust, reliability, and resilience against evolving threats. Several targeted research streams will directly support the security posture of SPOs, including:

Post-Quantum Landscape (PQL-1, PQL-2)

Emerging quantum computing capabilities could compromise existing cryptographic standards. PQL-1 focuses on developing post-quantum secure cryptographic primitives and evaluating Cardano’s critical protocols against quantum adversaries, ensuring SPO infrastructure remains secure long-term. PQL-2 explores how quantum technologies could enhance blockchain security and performance, providing new methods for key management and advanced cryptographic signatures that offer stronger protections against future cryptographic vulnerabilities.

Byzantine-Resilient Networking (OO-4)

This stream aims to bolster the resilience of the network layer underpinning Cardano against Byzantine faults—situations where nodes may behave maliciously or unpredictably. SPOs will benefit directly through improved network protocols designed to mitigate attacks like Eclipse or Denial-of-Service (DoS). The research provides practical enhancements to secure transaction propagation, ensuring SPOs’ operational continuity even under adversarial network conditions.

Location-based Services and Smart Contracts (WOS-6)

This research proposes mechanisms to verify and incentivize geographic dispersion of network nodes. By incorporating SPO location into the incentive and rewards structures, the network encourages decentralized geographic distribution, reducing systemic vulnerabilities. This approach directly enhances the overall security posture of Cardano, making the network more robust against localized disruptions, geopolitical interference, and attacks targeting node concentration.

Efficiency and scalability of the infrastructure

Improving efficiency and scalability is crucial to enabling SPOs to support increased network usage, maintaining competitive operations, and providing diverse services while managing resources effectively.

Pub/Sub Communications (WOS-5)

This stream addresses critical communication inefficiencies within decentralized ecosystems. By developing a robust, secure, and Byzantine-resilient publish-subscribe (pub/sub) protocol, SPOs will achieve more efficient and streamlined interactions between nodes, smart contracts, decentralized applications (DApps), and stakeholders. Such improved communication efficiency significantly reduces the resource burden on SPOs, enabling nodes to handle transactions and updates with lower overhead.

Decentralized Storage (WOS-4)

Recognizing the challenges posed by an ever-growing blockchain, this research stream explores decentralized storage solutions resilient to Byzantine faults. SPOs will benefit from distributed, secure, and fault-tolerant storage mechanisms that optimize data management, reducing storage overhead while enhancing resilience and accessibility of blockchain data. This ensures SPO infrastructure remains sustainable despite exponential blockchain growth.

Leios (OO-2)

Leios is focused on maximizing network throughput proportional to SPO node resources (bandwidth, CPU, and memory). By aligning throughput directly with the capabilities of participating nodes, SPOs can effectively leverage their hardware investments, drastically increasing transaction capacity, and overall improvement of network efficiency. This allows SPOs to scale their infrastructure seamlessly along with rising demand.

Cardano Sharding (OO-8)

Cardano sharding aims to implement horizontal scalability by distributing blockchain data and validation tasks across multiple nodes. SPOs could specialize in specific tasks or service offerings, thus supporting a more diverse range of blockchain operations and services efficiently. Sharding enables performance to scale with additional nodes, benefiting SPOs seeking optimized workloads or specialized infrastructure roles.

Multi-Resource Consensus (OO-5)

Minotaur introduces hybrid consensus mechanisms utilizing multiple resources—such as Proof-of-Stake (PoS), Proof-of-Work (PoW), and Proof-of-Restake (PoRS)—to bootstrap and secure new partner chains with relatively low overhead. This model allows SPOs to participate in multiple chains simultaneously through re-staking, significantly broadening the SPOs’ operational reach and economic opportunities without requiring substantial additional resources.

Light Client Infrastructure (IC-3)

This research stream focuses on creating lightweight clients capable of securely interacting with the blockchain with minimal data retention and bandwidth requirements. By providing services tailored toward storage- or communication-constrained devices, SPOs can extend their service offerings to a broader range of users and devices. Such innovations ensure efficient network participation for devices previously excluded due to resource constraints.

Hydra Tail (IHT-1)

Hydra Tail develops layer 2 scaling solutions using zk-rollups to batch and process transactions off-chain efficiently while maintaining on-chain security assurances. This approach dramatically reduces the computational and storage load on SPO nodes, enabling SPOs to support higher transaction throughput at reduced operational cost. It further optimizes network resources by delegating computationally intensive tasks away from layer 1.

Economics / tokenomics

Research into advanced tokenomics models and economic incentives is essential for ensuring the financial sustainability, operational predictability, and attractiveness of participation for SPOs.

Rewards Sharing and Transaction Fees (TO-2)

This research explores advanced reward-sharing mechanisms and fee structures, focusing on fairness, predictability, and innovative economic models such as block space tokenization. By refining these mechanisms, SPOs benefit from predictable and stable economic returns, enabling more precise business planning and fostering innovative service offerings. Models like block space tokenization could allow SPOs to monetize blockchain resources differently, opening new revenue streams and enhancing economic efficiency.

Congestion Control (OO-7)

Congestion control addresses transaction fee structures and resource allocation during peak network usage periods. By developing more sophisticated fee models based on resource usage and urgency, SPOs will experience more stable and predictable income streams. This predictability not only attracts more users to the network but also supports SPOs in developing new business models, such as tiered services or premium transactions, directly benefiting from their infrastructure investments.

Tokenomics Design (TO-1)

Focused on foundational economic analysis and optimization of the Cardano token ecosystem, this research provides SPOs with robust, mathematical frameworks for understanding token circulation, valuation, and macroeconomic stability. Clear and evidence-based tokenomics enable SPOs to anticipate long-term value dynamics, strategically plan their resource investments, and confidently expand operations in alignment with the overall economic health of the Cardano blockchain.

DApps tokenomics (C-4.1)

Research into optimal DApp participation focuses on creating economic frameworks that enable SPOs to participate efficiently in new or existing partner chains. By establishing clear guidelines for managing and incentivizing engagement in DApps, sidechains, and partner chain ecosystems, SPOs can expand their economic opportunities with maximized returns and minimal overhead. This supports diversification of their operational and financial portfolios within the broader Cardano ecosystem.

Governance

Effective, efficient, and inclusive governance mechanisms empower SPOs to actively participate in the strategic evolution of Cardano, ensuring the ecosystem remains responsive to stakeholder needs without compromising blockchain efficiency.

Next-Level Governance Protocols (D4-1)

Research in this area focuses on designing scalable and decentralized governance protocols with minimal resource footprints. By shifting significant parts of governance computations off-chain or onto layer 2, SPOs can participate in decisions without excessive consumption of valuable mainchain blockspace. This efficiency ensures blockspace remains available primarily for user transactions, preserving overall network performance while maintaining robust governance participation.

Governance Incentives (D4-2)

This stream examines advanced incentive models for decentralized governance, such as representative and liquid democracy or quadratic voting mechanisms. These refined voting models aim to balance decision-making power, mitigate centralization risks, and encourage wider, more informed participation from SPOs and the broader community. The integration of real-world identities and credentials into voting processes further enhances the fairness and effectiveness of governance, promoting accountability and preventing manipulation or Sybil attacks.

Decision-Making Toolset (D4-3)

This research develops analytical tools and visualization frameworks enabling SPOs to objectively assess and compare governance proposals based on essential metrics like decentralization, economic impact, interoperability, and throughput. Equipping SPOs with such comprehensive decision-making toolsets fosters transparent, collaborative, and data-driven governance participation, ensuring the alignment of strategic decisions with the long-term interests of the Cardano ecosystem and all its stakeholders.

Zero-Knowledge, SNARKs and Identity

ZK proofs and Snarks primarily function as enabling technologies, providing essential infrastructure for advanced governance systems. In a similar vein, Digital Identities are integrated as core components, reinforcing governance mechanisms, strengthening incentivization structures, and bolstering security frameworks.

For further details on each research stream please use the stream ID to search in the full written Cardano Vision - Work Program 2025 proposal in the Supporting Links section via Ekklesia.

Going forward

IOR intends to continue discussions with SPOs stakeholders through Cardano R&D Sessions as it restructures the Intersect Research Working Group to engage more effectively with the community.

If you are an SPO and wish to be involved in these discussions please contact IOR via its contact form.

If you are involved in research and wish to play a more prominent role in developing research for Cardano please also contact IOR.