blake2b-256
This treasury withdrawal funds the Cardano Global Listing Expansion initiative, a strategic proposal by the Snek Foundation to list SNEK on major centralized exchanges (CEXs), retail brokers, and other widely adopted platforms. 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 million, entirely self funded, to secure major exchange listings. We’ve delivered the first and second ever Tier 1 listings for any Cardano native token, with Kraken and Crypto.com setting historic precedents for the ecosystem. These were not isolated wins, but the first step in a broader strategy to unlock global market access for Cardano. This proposal seeks 5,000,000 ADA to support top-tier exchange listings, liquidity provisioning, legal and compliance services, and strategic advisory oversight. These listings will not only increase SNEK adoption but also bring unprecedented visibility, liquidity, and user acquisition opportunities to the entire Cardano ecosystem. 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) and Phillip Pon (CEO of Emurgo), with additional top-tier names to be announced. 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: - ADA’s visibility and liquidity on global platforms - Cardano’s competitiveness in retail-driven market cycles - The discoverability of Cardano’s ecosystem by mainstream users - 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.
## Project Solution The SNEK 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 million of its own capital into this initiative, and remains committed to continued investment alongside community support. ## Listing Strategy This proposal prioritizes high-impact, global-facing exchanges and service providers, with some already at the later stages for listing. Including but not limited to: - **Tier 1 & 2 CEXs:** Coinbase, Binance, Crypto.com, KuCoin, OKX, Upbit, HTX, Bybit - **Retail Brokers:** Robinhood, Revolut, MoonPay, eToro, Uphold - **Innovative DeFi:** Hyperliquid (for perpetuals and trading) These platforms represent critical access points for onboarding new users, increasing ADA liquidity, and bringing Cardano native tokens into mainstream crypto finance. This strategy marks the next step toward large-scale adoption of Cardano native assets (CNTs). We already have multiple offers under consideration, and access to a larger budget through this treasury proposal will allow us to negotiate more effectively, secure better placement, and maximize impact for the broader Cardano ecosystem. ## Vendor Profile 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. 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 $4M for exchange listings - Delivered the first and second-ever Tier 1 exchange listings for Cardano via Kraken and Crypto.com - 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. 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. ## Governance and Oversight A Board of Advisors will be appointed to provide guidance, feedback, and external validation. The board will include: - Tal Cohen, former CEO of Kraken - Phillip Pon, CEO of Emurgo - Rapha C-Roy, CEO of Snek Foundation - Prominent leaders from the Cardano ecosystem and the compliance sector - more to come on this. 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. ## Budget The funds 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 Any unused funds will be returned to the treasury. ## Conclusion The Snek Foundation has self funded the growth of SNEK to date, all prior centralized exchange listings, marketing, and infrastructure without relying on any community raise or token sale. Over the past two years, the Snek Foundation has invested more than $4 million USD into listings alone, funded entirely through project revenue and the Snek treasury. This proposal marks the first time the Foundation is requesting support from the Cardano community to unlock broader exchange access, liquidity, and visibility for the entire Cardano ecosystem. Backing this initiative isn’t simply an investment in a single token. It’s a strategic investment in Cardano’s reach, relevance, and competitiveness in the global crypto landscape. SNEK has already proven itself as both a cultural and technical leader on Cardano and, more importantly, as a project that’s trusted to consistently deliver. With community support, we can continue to open doors that benefit every user, builder, and token in the ecosystem. This proposal isn’t just about Snek — it’s about what Snek enables for Cardano. We’ve already proven that major platforms are willing to list CNTs when the right infrastructure, compliance, and community story are in place. With $4M+ of our own capital invested and Tier 1 listings already live, we’ve eliminated the risk and shown the upside. Now, with treasury support, we can go further — expanding access, sharing the roadmap, and giving every Cardano project the chance to follow.
Snek.com
Withdraw ₳5M for Cardano's Global Listing Expansion - Powered by Snek