Intersect, a key member-based organization dedicated to the Cardano ecosystem, has announced the official timeline for the upcoming Chang hard fork via X. This update is pivotal in the ongoing development of the Cardano network, aimed at enhancing protocol efficiency and governance mechanisms.

Cardano Chang Hard Fork To Roll Out On August 27

The announcement by Intersect details that the Chang hard fork working group had convened to review the progress against the established readiness thresholds, alongside considering community feedback and sentiment. “The group is excited to be able to formally propose the first set of dates for the Chang #1 hard fork on the production mainnet; the target for mainnet hardfork is Tuesday 27th August, with a final go/no-go decision scheduled for early Friday 23rd August,” the announcement details.

In terms of preparedness, the group has achieved significant milestones, particularly with Stake Pool Operators (SPOs) where 80% are now on version 9.1.0, meeting the desired threshold for SPOs. However, liquidity remains a concern with only 28% of exchanges upgraded to the required version, with a target set at 85%.

Despite this, the group noted an upward trend in readiness across various components of the ecosystem. “SPO-readiness was confirmed last week, the exchange liquidity metric is good and improving, and we have been receiving positive readiness updates from many leading DApps,” Intersect states.

In preparation for the hard fork, a comprehensive schedule of governance actions and signatures is required, which will commence four days prior to the hard fork. The working group emphasizes the criticality of this phase, urging all stakeholders to finalize their preparations. “The time to upgrade is now! If there is a specific reason or dependency that means your upgrade cannot be achieved, we need to know from you NOW,” the announcement urges.

Notably, the preparation also includes a pre-production hard fork scheduled for the 22nd of August, serving as a final test and adjustment before the main deployment.

In response to the impending hard fork, Charles Hoskinson, the founder of Cardano, expressed his anticipation and the strategic importance of this upgrade. Via a social media post, Hoskinson remarked, “Are you prepared for Chang? Rocket is on the pad. Governance is coming.”

To align with the upcoming changes, Input Output, the developer company behind Cardano, has already released a new version of the Daedalus wallet. The update to Daedalus 6.0.0 is essential for the forthcoming Chang hard fork. “Daedalus 6.0.0 is a mainnet release required to cross the upcoming Chang hard fork and operate in the Conway era. It is mandatory for all Daedalus users to upgrade to this version,” the company communicated via X.

Chang Upgrade: 2-Phase Rollout

The Chang upgrade marks a significant evolution for Cardano, aimed at establishing a minimum viable on-chain governance system as stipulated in CIP-1694. The first stage, Chang Upgrade #1, introduces governance features to the blockchain, initiating what is described as the technical bootstrapping phase in accordance with CIP-1694.

The second stage, Chang Upgrade #2, advances these implementations to fully activate the comprehensive features of CIP-1694, including extensive DRep (Delegation Representatives) participation and a broader range of governance actions, effectively transitioning out of the bootstrapping phase.

At press time, ADA traded at $0.3580.