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Cardano Triggers First Fully Onchain Governed Hard Fork in Network History
On July 18, 2026, Cardano activated the Van Rossem hard fork, moving the blockchain to Protocol Version 11 within the Conway era without any reported downtime.
Published:
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What happened
On July 18, 2026, Cardano activated the Van Rossem hard fork, moving the blockchain to Protocol Version 11 within the Conway era without any reported downtime.
Confirmed
Global impact / market context
The upgrade reduces the cost of running Plutus smart contracts, making it cheaper for developers to deploy applications on Cardano and potentially encouraging more usage of the platform.
Analyst inference
This is the first fully on‑chain governed hard fork in Cardano’s history, showing the network’s ability to evolve without service interruptions, which can boost confidence among investors and users.
Analyst inference
What to watch
- Adoption rates of Plutus contracts after the fork, as lower fees may lead to higher deployment volumes. Analyst inference
- Any future on‑chain governance proposals that could further modify protocol parameters or introduce new features. Analyst inference
- Network stability metrics, such as block production times and node uptime, to confirm the fork’s seamless execution. Confirmed
Affected assets
- ADA — Cardano