Cardano Activates van Rossem Hard Fork, Upgrading Mainnet to Protocol Version 11

Cardano News

Cardano activated its van Rossem hard fork over the weekend, moving the mainnet from Protocol Version 10 to Version 11 at the epoch boundary. On-chain data shows the network remained on Version 10 through the end of epoch 643 before switching to Version 11 upon entering epoch 644. The upgrade is notable as the first hard fork in Cardano history ratified entirely through on-chain governance rather than coordinated solely by core engineers. It lowers smart contract execution costs and lays the technical groundwork for the network’s next scaling phase. Cardano (ADA), a leading altcoin tracked on our Cardano hub, remains within the Conway era as an intra-era upgrade.

The activation followed formal ratification on July 13 by three governance bodies: delegated representatives (DReps), stake pool operators (SPOs), and the Constitutional Committee. On-chain governance records show 77.63% DRep support and 52.7% SPO backing, comfortably clearing the required thresholds, while six of seven Constitutional Committee members judged the proposal constitutional. DReps are the delegated voters to whom ADA holders assign their governance stake, meaning token-holder intent flowed directly into a live protocol update for the first time. The milestone demonstrates that Cardano’s decentralized governance framework can coordinate a network-wide change without a centrally directed deployment by a single engineering team.

The upgrade advanced in two stages: a Plutus cost model update followed by the hard fork itself. Cost model changes recalibrate how execution fees are calculated, and Cardano’s developers front-loaded them so decentralized application builders could adjust configurations before the switch. The mainnet cost model proposal was submitted on May 26 and ratified on June 13 with 68.57% DRep approval and five of seven Constitutional Committee votes. The staged approach also enabled new smart contract primitives to become usable immediately upon activation. Applications such as an automated market maker rely on precise fee accounting, making the recalibration materially relevant for DeFi operators building on the chain.

At its core, van Rossem targets the Plutus smart contract platform, delivering performance improvements and a refined cost model intended to make some contract operations cheaper. Plutus is Cardano’s on-chain execution environment, and the recalibrated fees are designed to more accurately reflect real computational cost, easing the burden on routine transactions. For developers weighing an altvm or alternative execution layer, cheaper and more predictable contract costs strengthen the case for building natively. Because the change is an intra-era hard fork, the network stays in the Conway era while updating discrete parts of the protocol, avoiding a full era transition and its heavier coordination requirements.

The path to mainnet was not entirely smooth. During testing, developers found that the data-query tools Ogmios and Kupo were not yet compatible with the new version, prompting a temporary pause of ratification on the Preprod test network. Engineers released updated derivative builds of both tools to restore a working verification environment before proceeding. The upgrade first reached the Preview testnet in May and Preprod in June once the compatibility issues were resolved. Organizers emphasized that a successful upgrade depended not only on the protocol itself but on surrounding infrastructure and coordination among Input Output, the Cardano Foundation, Emurgo, and Intersect.

Attention now turns to Cardano’s next major upgrade, the Dijkstra era hard fork, which will introduce Ouroboros Leios. Leios is a proposed extension to Cardano’s Ouroboros proof-of-stake consensus designed to raise throughput while preserving existing security guarantees. Simulations from Input Output target processing of more than 1,000 transactions per second by leveraging parallel node processing — a sharp increase from current capacity that would narrow the scalability gap with rivals such as Ethereum and Solana. A constitution update adding new parameters for Dijkstra is slated for submission by epoch 655, which begins on September 11, 2026. Leios development remains ongoing, with prototype builds still being stabilized.

(as of 15:11 UTC) COINOTAG’s proprietary 42-indicator composite S/R scoring engine rates the $0.1663 resistance at 75/100, driven by the confluence of the daily Pivot Point, the Ichimoku Tenkan line and the 20-period SMA, with a second barrier at $0.1712 scoring 73/100. To the downside, the $0.1579 support scores 85/100 on the strength of a swing low and the ATR lower band. With ADA near $0.16, RSI sits at 44.94 and MACD reads bullish despite an overall downtrend. Derivatives data shows a modest 0.0032% funding rate, $151.9 million in open interest and a 2.82 long/short ratio (73.8% long) — crowded positioning that risks a squeeze. A bear-market tone persists, with the Fear & Greed Index at 29 and Bitcoin dominance elevated at 69.8%; losing $0.1579 would invalidate the recovery thesis.