Cardano investors set to control $14bn blockchain as Chang hard fork begins

Cardano is one step closer to completing its much-anticipated Chang hard fork.

Stake pool operators on Cardano have begun upgrading their nodes to the network’s new software tagged Node 9.1.0 on Thursday. SPOs are validators on Cardano who authenticate transactions on the blockchain.

The Chang hard work will transfer control of the $14 billion blockchain to ADA holders.

“Cardano node 9.1.0 includes all the features that are necessary to be able to cross the Chang hard fork,” the node release document on the Cardano GitHub said.

The hard fork will happen once at least 70% of all SPOs have upgraded to the new node.

Cardano’s node density for the upgrade is at 27% as of reporting time, according to data from Cardano staking dashboard PoolTool.

Once the required 70% node density is reached, the event will trigger a new blockchain proposal to finalise the hard fork.

Hard forks cause major changes to a blockchain’s software such that the network is no longer backward compatible with previous iterations once the process is complete.

Major blockchains such as Bitcoin and Ethereum have undergone hard forks in the past. Ethereum’s 2022 hard fork changed the network’s consensus from Proof of Work mining to Proof of Stake.

Cardano’s Chang hard fork will introduce decentralised governance to the blockchain similar to DeFi DAOs. The network upgrade is named Chang after early Cardano evangelist Phil Chang who died in 2022.

Decentralised governance would mean Cardano is no longer under the control of the Cardano Foundation, Emurgo, and Input Output Global ― the three entities previously in charge of Cardano’s administration.

Emurgo is Cardano’s commercial arm, while Charles Hoskinson owns Input Output Global, a blockchain development firm.

With the transition to DAO-like governance, holders of Cardano’s native coin ADA will have the power to vote on changes to the blockchain.

Hoskinson previously said this pivot to decentralised governance showed how much Cardano has matured over the years.

Aside from voting on blockchain changes, ADA holders will also have rights over the project’s budget and treasury. ADA holders not keen on active governance may also delegate their voting power to other participants.

Cardano’s Chang hard fork is the fifth network change for the blockchain. It will usher Cardano into the Voltaire era which according to the project’s roadmap will decentralise control of the network.

The previous eras were called Goguen and Basho and they introduced network features such as scalability and smart contract functionality.

Osato Avan-Nomayo is our Nigeria-based DeFi correspondent. He covers DeFi and tech. To share tips or information about stories, please contact him at osato@dlnews.com.