The Cardano network is on the verge of activating its next major upgrade, the van Rossem hard fork, as the final hours of epoch 642 tick down. Intersect, a key development body within the Cardano ecosystem, has provided a fresh update on the governance status, revealing that most thresholds have been met but one critical vote remains.
Current Voting Progress
The van Rossem hard fork, which upgrades the protocol to Version 11, has secured strong support from delegated representatives (DReps) and stake pool operators (SPOs). DRep approval stands at 76.81%, well above the required 60% threshold, while SPO support is at 52.76%, surpassing the 51% minimum. However, only four out of the seven Constitutional Committee (CC) members have voted in favor, with one more vote or abstention needed to reach the five-vote requirement.
Remaining Steps and Timeline
With epoch 642 ending on July 13, the next possible ratification date is July 18, after which the governance action expires. If all conditions are met by then, the hard fork could be enacted on July 18 or 23. The ledger prioritizes hard fork ratification over other governance actions, meaning any conflicting proposals will be delayed until the upgrade is resolved.
Ecosystem Readiness
Adoption of Protocol Version 11 has been steadily increasing. Currently, 93% of blocks in the current epoch are produced under the new protocol, and exchange liquidity readiness has risen to 84.15%, exceeding the required threshold. The Hard Fork Working Group has formally recommended ratification. The upgrade aims to improve Plutus smart contract performance, ledger consistency, node security, and introduce enhanced primitives and updated reference input rules.