Cardano completed the Van Rossem hard fork on July 18, upgrading the blockchain to protocol version 11 without any network downtime. This upgrade marks a significant shift for Cardano as it is the first major update ratified entirely through on-chain community governance, rather than being directed by Input Output, the blockchain’s founding development company.
On-chain community governance takes the lead
Where previous upgrades were managed by Input Output, the Van Rossem upgrade was decided collaboratively by Cardano’s decentralized community. Named in honor of Max van Rossem, a Dutch Cardano contributor who passed away in October 2025, the upgrade highlights the governance system he helped design. Van Rossem served as a developer, node operator, and constitutional delegate on the Cardano network.
Three groups approved the upgrade: delegated representatives (DReps), stake pool operators, and the Constitutional Committee. DReps, who act on behalf of Cardano ADA holders, voted overwhelmingly in favor at 77.63%, passing the 60% approval requirement. Stake pool operators, responsible for running the network’s core servers, approved the fork at 52.7%, just over the 51% minimum. The seven-member Constitutional Committee, which ensures proposals align with Cardano’s founding principles, also granted approval.
Since 2024’s Chang hard fork, Cardano has been moving toward this decentralized governance structure. The subsequent Plomin hard fork in early 2025 further empowered token holders by introducing real on-chain voting rights.
Mini dictionary: DReps (Delegated Representatives), elected members who represent ADA holders in on-chain governance votes, similar to parliamentary delegates.
Technical changes and developer impact
The Van Rossem upgrade is classified as an intra-era upgrade, meaning it delivers targeted improvements without altering Cardano’s fundamental architecture. Its main focus is to reduce Plutus smart contract execution costs, giving developers the ability to deploy more complex decentralized apps and tools at lower cost.
Plutus, Cardano’s smart contract programming language, underpins decentralized finance (DeFi) apps, NFT marketplaces, and on-chain payment solutions built on the network. Alongside cost reductions, the upgrade introduces cryptographic enhancements and a security improvement mandating unique cryptographic keys for every stake pool, closing a previously known attack vector.
With protocol version 11 live, technical changes include constant-time array indexing, native handling of Value types, faster list traversal, and the implementation of new cryptographic primitives. These improvements apply to Plutus versions V1, V2, and V3, with no change to transaction structures.
| Component | Before Van Rossem | After Van Rossem |
|---|---|---|
| Smart contract execution cost | Higher | Lower |
| Array indexing | Variable time | Constant time |
| Security (stake pools) | Shared keys possible | Unique keys required |
Market reaction muted, upgrade paves way for future changes
Despite the substantial technical and governance changes, ADA’s market price remained relatively stable. The token traded flat for three days around $0.1662, maintaining a market capitalization of approximately $6 billion. Analysts noted that while bullish traders made attempts to gain momentum, overall sentiment remained cautious. The hard fork appears to have offered some price support, preventing further declines.
Technical indicators reflected a mostly neutral to weak trend. The 50-day exponential moving average remained below the 200-day level, a configuration often interpreted as bearish. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) measured 48.8, signaling a neutral momentum, while the Average Directional Index (ADX) registered a lack of strong trend but showed early signs of a potential bullish shift.
Whale holders with balances between 100,000 and 100 million ADA increased their holdings to the highest level since 2023, according to analytics firm Santiment, while retail investors reduced exposure.
Protocol version 11 introduces smart contract cost reductions, enhanced cryptography, and a stronger security model for stake pool operators, helping pave the way for broader scalability and future upgrades.
Next steps: Ouroboros Leios and Cardano’s roadmap
Cardano’s next major development is the Ouroboros Leios upgrade, expected to boost the network’s transaction throughput by 30 to 65 times, with a target of over 1,000 transactions per second. The van Rossem upgrade is regarded as a key technical prerequisite for this step. The public testnet for Leios, named Musashi Dojo, launched on June 23. Charles Hoskinson, founder of Cardano, projected that Leios may reach mainnet before the end of 2026.
Input Output, the developer behind Cardano’s foundational code, recently announced plans to transition development to external specialist teams beginning in August. Van Rossem is the first protocol upgrade coordinated under this decentralized development initiative.
