Charles Hoskinson, the mastermind behind the innovative blockchain platform Cardano, is gearing up for a significant event in the Cardano ecosystem scheduled for June.
On June 9th, Hoskinson made a groundbreaking announcement on X, revealing that Cardano’s upcoming Chang fork is rapidly approaching and that the Cardano Node is on track to hit version 9.0 within the month. This development signals that the Cardano blockchain is primed for the impending hard fork, awaiting the installation of the new node by 70% of stake pool operators (SPO).
Hoskinson emphasized that once this crucial milestone is met, Cardano will transition into the Age of Voltaire, marking the final phase in the platform’s roadmap. Each stage in Cardano’s development journey, referred to as “eras,” pays tribute to distinguished figures in poetry and computer science, such as Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Joseph Goguen, Matsuo Bashō, and Voltaire.
While the initial phases laid the groundwork with a basic blockchain, decentralization, and smart contracts, the Basho era focused on blockchain scalability. Voltaire, the ultimate era, is set to introduce governance, voting mechanisms, and treasury management functionalities to the Cardano blockchain.
Chang represents the inaugural hard fork in Cardano’s Voltaire era and is dedicated to Phil Chang, a respected figure in Cardano governance who passed away in 2022. Hoskinson envisions Chang as the gateway to a “decentralized civilization,” poised to accommodate millions of users worldwide.
With Chang’s implementation, Cardano is expected to establish the most advanced blockchain governance system yet, complete with annual budgets, a treasury reserve, and valuable input from the community. Despite the anticipation surrounding the upcoming hard fork, the ADA cryptocurrency has experienced a significant decline in 2024, dropping over 26% from $0.60 to $0.44 as of the latest data from CoinGecko.
In the midst of ADA’s market cap slipping out of the top 10, making way for the Telegram-associated cryptocurrency Toncoin (TON), Hoskinson remains optimistic about the transformative impact of the Chang fork on Cardano’s ecosystem. As the countdown to the hard fork continues, the blockchain community eagerly awaits the dawn of a new era in decentralized governance and innovation.