Cardano Foundation Debut PRAGMA to Drive Open-Source Project Development

The Cardano Foundation, in collaboration with four other entities – Blink Labs, dcSpark, Sundae Labs, and TxPipe, has announced the launch of PRAGMA, a new not-for-profit association dedicated to promoting open-source blockchain software projects.

Cardano Foundation and PRAGMA: Focus and Targets

Renagh Moone, Global Communications Director, announced the launch in a post. It noted that the signing of the association’s statutes signaled PRAGMA’s official launch, which will prioritize fostering a space where developers can collaborate and build upon open-source technologies.

The collaboration aims to create a robust and sustainable ecosystem for Cardano and other blockchain networks by facilitating a community-driven approach to software development.

The initial focus of PRAGMA is to support existing open-source projects within the Cardano ecosystem and encourage the development of new tools and technologies. To achieve this, it will adopt a phased approach to the projects.

It will commence with the Amaru project. This project involves building a Cardano full node in Rust, allowing it to operate alongside existing Haskell nodes with full interoperability. Cardano is big on interoperability as seen with its W3C-compatible Identity Wallet launched in December of 2023.

Another key project is Aiken which is a smart contract platform designed to simplify and improve smart contract development on Cardano.

Planned Expansion and Collaboration

According to the industry source, PRAGMA will open membership to a broader group of developers within the Cardano network in its second phase scheduled for 2025. The goal is to further foster collaboration and innovation while promoting a diverse and inclusive environment for software development.

Sebastian Bode, Director of Engineering at the Cardano Foundation and Board Member of PRAGMA, stated that PRAGMA is a crucial step in the Cardano Foundation’s mission to transform the blockchain into a public infrastructure. He maintained that the PRAGMA team has a shared vision for achieving mass adoption of blockchain technology.

On his part, Frederik Gregaard, CEO of the Cardano Foundation, added that PRAGMA represents a milestone in advancing open-source maturity within Cardano. Gregaard expressed the foundation’s commitment to supporting collaborative initiatives that enrich the blockchain landscape with diverse and high-quality solutions.

The introduction of PRAGMA is poised to aid Cardano’s evolution overall. Founder Charles Hoskinson has been championing new ideas personally that may further complement IOG’s growth plans in the long term.