Cardano completes first fully on-chain governance hard fork in network history

Cardano activated the Van Rossem hard fork at 21:44:51 UTC on July 18, 2026, upgrading the network to protocol version 11 with no downtime reported. This upgrade is a change within the Conway ledger era, aimed at reducing the operational cost of Plutus smart contracts, enhancing ledger security, and adding new cryptographic tools. Van Rossem includes 5 Cardano Improvement Proposals, covering BLS12-381 multi-scalar multiplication, on-chain array types, multi-asset value processing optimization, list operation acceleration, and built-in modular exponentiation. Staking pools are now prohibited from reusing the same Verifiable Random Function key across the entire network, and each pool must hold a unique key tied to its identity. This upgrade was completed through Cardano's on-chain governance process, from proposal to activation via on-chain voting. Delegated representatives passed the proposal with a 77.63% approval rate, staking pool operators had a 52.7% approval rate, and the Constitutional Committee voted 6-0-0-1. The total balance of wallets holding between 100,000 and 100 million ADA has risen to its highest level since 2023, currently controlling over a quarter of ADA's circulating supply. Cardano will next advance Ouroboros Leios and plans to achieve a target of over 1,000 transactions per second during testing in 2026.