Cardano's 'Chang' Hard Fork Network Upgrade Delayed Until September

Cardano ADA/USD blockchain is gearing up for its most substantial upgrade in two years, which will introduce new mechanisms allowing users to participate in on-chain governance.

What Happened: The upgrade, named the “Chang hard fork,” marks a critical point in Cardano’s development, following the highly anticipated addition of smart contract functionality in 2021.

Originally scheduled to go live this week, the upgrade has been postponed to Sep.1, according to Hoskinson. The delay is intended to give exchanges, including Binance, additional time to prepare their systems.

“The magic of deadlines is that people who aren’t taking upgrades seriously suddenly say damn we got to get moving,” Hoskinson commented on X, highlighting the urgency that deadlines create.

Cardano, ranked as the 30th largest blockchain by DeFILlama, garners significant attention within the cryptocurrency community, not only due to its technical innovations but also because of Hoskinson’s vibrant personality and active public presence.

Hoskinson, who co-founded Ethereum with Vitalik Buterin in 2014, left the project shortly afterward to pursue his vision for Cardano.

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Why It Matters: A hard fork, like the one Cardano is preparing for, is a significant change to a blockchain’s protocol, rendering previous versions obsolete.

These upgrades can be contentious, but they are often essential for introducing new features or addressing existing issues.

The upcoming Chang hard fork will enable Cardano to implement on-chain governance, empowering ADA token holders to elect representatives (known as Delegate Representatives or dReps) and vote on proposals for improvements and technical modifications to the blockchain.

"This will mark the first step towards a minimum-viable community-run governance structure outlined in CIP-1694, meaning that the Cardano community will be responsible for maintaining and shaping the blockchain network," the Cardano Foundation, which supports the blockchain, explained in a recent blog post.

The heart of this upgrade is CIP-1694, a Cardano Improvement Proposal that introduces various governance structures, including the Constitutional Committee, dReps, and Stake Pool Operators (SPOs). Once CIP-1694 is in place, these groups will have the authority to manage and modify the Cardano blockchain.

The Chang upgrade is part of the Voltaire Era, the final phase in Cardano’s current development roadmap.

According to the Cardano Foundation, the Voltaire Era is designed to "provide the final pieces required for the Cardano network to become a self-sustaining system."

As Cardano approaches this pivotal upgrade, its implications for blockchain governance and community involvement will likely be a significant topic of discussion at Benzinga’s Future of Digital Assets event on Nov. 19.

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