Jack Paul 
Community-Driven Growth Without Venture Capital
Minswap has quietly become the dominant decentralized exchange on Cardano, which I think is pretty remarkable considering it launched without any venture capital backing. The protocol started in 2021 with a Fair Initial Stake Offering that distributed MIN tokens directly to the Cardano community rather than private investors. This approach seems to have paid off – MIN holders now have full voting rights over protocol decisions, treasury management, and upgrades.
What’s interesting is how this community-first model has translated into real recognition. Minswap has been named Cardano’s top DeFi project three times, which suggests the community appreciates the approach. The treasury has grown to over $13.5 million, including protocol-owned liquidity positions that help stabilize trading pairs.
Technical Upgrades and Market Position
Last year, Minswap rebuilt its core contracts using Plutus V2 and the Aiken framework. This wasn’t just a minor update – it increased throughput by 10 times, going from 3 swaps per block to 36. Transaction costs dropped significantly, and congestion became less of an issue.
The exchange added smart order routing, limit orders, and one-click liquidity tools. Their stableswap pools, optimized for pegged assets, now handle over 90% of all stablecoin volume on Cardano. A targeted incentive program of 30,000 ADA quadrupled usage within weeks, which shows how responsive the ecosystem can be to well-designed incentives.
To date, Minswap has processed more than $7 billion across 5.9 million trades. It consistently manages over 70% of daily DEX volume on Cardano, with total value locked approaching $54 million. That represents a substantial portion of the network’s DeFi activity.
Active Governance and Future Plans
Governance on Minswap isn’t just theoretical – it’s actually being used. In April 2025, the community passed MIP-01 with 98% support, establishing a DAO LLC in the Marshall Islands. This provided a compliant framework for managing treasury and contracts.
Since then, MIN holders have voted on everything from reducing token emissions to forming treasury working groups and approving liquidity management proposals. Turnout remains strong, with most votes involving hundreds of millions of MIN tokens.
The most exciting development might be what’s coming next. Cardano’s upcoming Cardinal Protocol will bring native Bitcoin into its DeFi stack without wrapping or centralized custody. Minswap is expected to be the first DEX to support BTC-ADA and related pairs.
Given Minswap’s current position with nearly $54 million in TVL and leading trading volume, it’s well-positioned to handle the initial wave of Bitcoin liquidity. Some projections suggest BTC support could increase Cardano’s overall DeFi TVL by up to 50%, with Minswap serving as the primary gateway.
A Different Approach to DeFi Growth
What stands out about Minswap is how it’s grown without relying on hype cycles or aggressive token launches. The growth has been steady, driven by governance decisions and user participation. As Cardano expands into Bitcoin integration, cross-chain functionality, and on-chain governance under Voltaire, Minswap remains deeply integrated with how the ecosystem functions.
The protocol continues operating at the center of Cardano DeFi – stable, active, and completely community-owned. It’s a different model from many other DeFi projects, and so far, it seems to be working.