Cardano’s Big Update: Chang Hard Fork is Almost Here!

Cardano founder, Charles Hoskinson, recently gave a big update on the progress of Cardano and the upcoming Chang hard fork. He said that the hard fork is almost ready and will be happening soon.

Chang Hard Fork is Almost Ready

Hoskinson talked about the challenges and successes of Cardano over the past few years. He said that even though they faced some obstacles, they were able to overcome them, especially in terms of governance. He highlighted the completion of CIP 1694, a crucial step for Cardano’s infrastructure.

The big news is that node 9.0, which is essential for the Chang hard fork, is almost finished. Hoskinson said that the new node is ready for release and is expected to be rolled out next week. The Chang hard fork will mark the beginning of the Voltaire era, a phase focused on governance.

What’s Next: The Voltaire Era

The Chang hard fork will trigger the Voltaire era, bringing new governance capabilities and more community involvement in decision-making. Hoskinson is excited about this stage, which has been in the works for two years.

After the Chang hard fork, Cardano will move into the Basho era, which focuses on scalability and network optimization. Hoskinson explained that this phase requires a lot of community input to decide on things like how to handle data, on-chain sharding, and transaction processing.

Looking Ahead: Plutus V3, Hydra, and More

Hoskinson also mentioned upcoming milestones, including Plutus V3, Hydra, Leios, and Mithil. These will be part of the next governance vote, which will determine the final state of Basho and how resources will be allocated. This vote highlights the shift towards a community-driven development model.

Hoskinson reflected on Cardano’s journey, saying that it has evolved from a static system to a dynamic and decentralized platform with strong governance. He is proud of the community’s growth and its increasing control over the roadmap.

He ended the update by promising to continue the conversation on Monday, addressing any remaining questions.