Cardano Makes History: First Fully Onchain-Governed Hard Fork Activated on Mainnet

Cardano has achieved a new milestone in blockchain governance. The Van Rossem hard fork activated on the Cardano mainnet on July 18, 2026, introducing Protocol Version 11. This is the first time a Cardano hard fork received approval entirely through the network’s onchain governance system, without any founding-body coordination. Cardano’s Voltaire-era governance structure, which includes