Cardano activated the Van Rossem hard fork on July 18, transitioning the network to protocol version 11 with zero downtime over the weekend. The upgrade represents the blockchain's first major protocol change ratified entirely through on-chain community governance, with no intervention from founding development company Input Output. The fork received approval from three separate governing bodies: elected community representatives (DReps) voted 77.63% in favor, stake pool operators approved at 52.7%, and the Constitutional Committee verified compliance with Cardano's founding document. The upgrade lowers Plutus smart contract execution costs and bundles five technical improvements, including new cryptographic tools and a security fix requiring unique cryptographic keys for each stake pool. Named after Dutch contributor Max van Rossem, who passed away in October 2025 and helped design the governance system that activated this upgrade, the fork sets the technical foundation for Cardano's planned scalability improvements.
Three Governing Bodies Approved Van Rossem Upgrade
The Van Rossem hard fork received approval from three separate governing bodies within Cardano's on-chain governance structure. Delegated representatives known as DReps—community members elected to vote on behalf of Cardano holders—approved the upgrade at 77.63%, clearing the required 60% threshold. Stake pool operators, the companies and individuals running the servers that maintain the Cardano network, backed the proposal at 52.7%, just above the required 51% approval rate.
The Constitutional Committee, a seven-member board that verifies upgrades comply with Cardano's founding document, also approved the proposal. Cardano built toward this governance model through the Chang hard fork in 2024, which introduced on-chain voting, followed by the Plomin hard fork in early 2025, which gave token holders decision-making power. Van Rossem is the first major Cardano upgrade ratified entirely through this community governance system without Input Output directing the process.
Van Rossem Lowers Plutus Execution Costs and Adds Cryptographic Tools
Van Rossem is an intra-era upgrade that targets specific improvements without rebuilding Cardano's core structure. The upgrade's main function lowers Plutus execution costs. Plutus is Cardano's smart contract programming language that powers DeFi applications, NFT marketplaces, and on-chain payment tools built on the network.
The upgrade bundles five technical proposals. Protocol Version 11 adds constant-time array indexing, native Value handling, faster list traversal, and new cryptographic primitives for verifying digital signatures. Built-ins now work across Plutus V1, V2, and V3, according to Input Output. The upgrade includes a security fix requiring every stake pool to use a unique cryptographic key, closing a known attack path. For everyday users, the upgrade produces no immediate changes.
ADA Price Remains Flat at $0.1662 Following Hard Fork
Cardano's native token ADA has been essentially flat for three days following the hard fork announcement, hovering around $0.1662 at a $6 billion market capitalization. The hard fork announcement appears to have steadied prices and prevented a retest of deeper support levels.
The 50-day exponential moving average sits below the 200-day, a bearish configuration. RSI reads 48.8, considered neutral. ADX sits at 16.1, though its directional component has shifted from bearish to bullish. Whales holding between 100,000 and 100 million ADA tokens pushed their balances to the highest level since 2023, according to Santiment data. Smaller holders reduced exposure.
Input Output Transfers Development to External Teams Starting August
Last week, Input Output announced it would hand off development to outside specialist teams starting in August. Van Rossem is the first upgrade executed under that transition. Input Output built Cardano's core codebase and has directed the network's hard forks throughout its history.
Ouroboros Leios Testnet Launched June 23
The next target for Cardano is Ouroboros Leios, the network's planned overhaul of transaction processing. Leios targets 30 to 65 times current throughput with a stated goal of exceeding 1,000 transactions per second. The public testnet, dubbed Musashi Dojo, launched June 23. Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson expects Leios to reach mainnet before the end of 2026. Van Rossem is a technical prerequisite for Leios.
FAQ
What did Cardano do on July 18?
Cardano activated the Van Rossem hard fork on July 18, transitioning the network to protocol version 11 with zero downtime. The upgrade was the blockchain's first major protocol change ratified entirely through on-chain community governance, with approval from elected community representatives (77.63%), stake pool operators (52.7%), and the Constitutional Committee.
Why does Van Rossem lower Plutus execution costs?
Van Rossem lowers Plutus execution costs by adding constant-time array indexing, native Value handling, faster list traversal, and new cryptographic primitives to protocol version 11. These technical improvements allow developers to run more complex applications for less cost on Cardano's smart contract programming language.
When did the Ouroboros Leios testnet launch?
The Ouroboros Leios public testnet, dubbed Musashi Dojo, launched June 23. Leios is Cardano's planned transaction processing overhaul targeting 30 to 65 times current throughput with a stated goal of exceeding 1,000 transactions per second. Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson expects Leios to reach mainnet before the end of 2026.
