A public dashboard will track performance in real time, complemented by quarterly community roundtables aligned with Cardano’s on-chain governance.

The program emphasizes sustained on-chain utility and tokenomics, favoring projects with clear roadmaps to user adoption and revenue growth over exploratory research.

The Orion Fund launches as an equity- and grant-based venture to accelerate Cardano’s on-chain development, leveraging the Alonzo smart contract rollout to boost developer activity and application layers through milestone-based funding.

The fund aims to replicate the momentum seen with Ethereum and Solana by providing substantial early-stage capital to Cardano-focused teams, addressing funding gaps for technical and protocol development.

Projects undergo rigorous evaluation with emphasis on UTXO compatibility and Bitcoin integration to ensure high standards and practical cross-chain utility.

The Orion Fund combines equity investments with grants to support long-term project growth and scalable, compliant solutions.

Success will be measured by increased on-chain utility, TVL, daily active addresses, and a growing diversity of applications.

Draper Dragon’s network and experience back the fund, lending capital access and strategic guidance with a track record across major tech and crypto players.

Tim Draper’s broader portfolio, including names like Coinbase and Ledger, enhances institutional credibility and reach for Cardano-focused ventures.

Funding unfolds over six years in stages, each requiring separate community approval, beginning with a smaller initial stage to decide whether to proceed.

The fund targets lifting Cardano’s TVL beyond $3 billion and boosting on-chain activity, while assessing the Draper network’s broader impact over the six-year horizon.

Governance is structured through Arouet Holdings to manage value returns to the Cardano treasury, with transparency via a public dashboard and ecosystem roundtables.