Cardano activates Van Rossem hard fork, first upgrade fully approved by on‑chain governance
On 18 July 2026 at 21:44 UTC, the Cardano network activated the Van Rossem hard fork, moving the blockchain from protocol version 10 to version 11. The upgrade was ratified entirely through Cardano’s on‑chain governance, receiving 77.6 % approval from DReps and 52.7 % from stake‑pool operators.
Version 11 introduces a revised Plutus cost model that lowers smart‑contract execution fees, adds new Plutus primitives and cryptographic functions, and tightens ledger security by requiring unique VRF keys for each stake pool. These changes lay the technical foundation for the upcoming Ouroboros Leios scaling upgrade expected later in 2026.
Concurrently, Cardano’s founding developer organization Input Output announced that, starting in August, core software components such as the Haskell node, Plutus platform, and Daedalus wallet will be transferred to independent specialist teams, completing the final stage of the Voltaire decentralisation roadmap. Large ADA holders (whales) have increased their holdings to over 25 billion ADA, the highest level since February 2023, while the ADA price remains around $0.16, well below its historical peak.