Cardano Confirms Van Rossem Hard Fork After On-Chain Governance Approval

Highlights:

• The Van Rossem hard fork will activate on July 18 after the Cardano community approved the network upgrade through on-chain voting.
• Protocol Version 11 adds new Plutus features, lowers smart contract costs, and improves network security for developers and users.
• The upgrade gives the Cardano community direct control over a major protocol change without relying on founding organizations.

The Cardano Foundation has confirmed the ratification of the van Rossem hard fork and scheduled Protocol Version 11 for activation on July 18, at 21:45 UTC. The release marks Cardano’s first hard fork that ADA holders approved through the Voltaire on-chain governance system instead of founding organizations. Cardano submitted the van Rossem hard fork governance action to the mainnet during Epoch 637 on June 16. The Cardano community ratified the proposal on July 13 after about four weeks of on-chain governance voting.

Cardano Approves Landmark Hard Fork

Cardano $ADA has ratified the van Rossem hard fork, with enactment scheduled for July 18.

The upgrade marks the first hard fork approved entirely through Cardano’s decentralized Voltaire governance system rather than by its founding entities.… pic.twitter.com/WmCSmVGWnh

— BSCN (@BSCNews) July 15, 2026

Unlike previous protocol changes, ADA holders approved the release through Voltaire governance instead of relying on founding organizations. The decision gave the community direct control over a major network upgrade for the first time.

Delegated Representatives cast votes on the van Rossem hard fork for ADA holders who delegated their governance rights. Stake pool operators also reviewed the proposal and submitted the votes required for ratification. Constitutional Committee members confirmed the proposal complied with Cardano’s constitutional rules before ratification.

The van Rossem hard fork exceeded every approval threshold required under Cardano’s Voltaire governance framework. Delegated Representatives gave the proposal more than the required 60% approval needed for ratification. Stake pool operators also delivered more than the required 51% support. Constitutional Committee members completed the remaining approvals that allowed the proposal to reach ratification on July 13.

Intersect’s Hard Fork Working Group coordinated the governance procedures and technical preparations for the release. Input Output, the Cardano Foundation, and Emurgo also supported the technical work needed before activation. Cardano named the release after community contributor Max van Rossem to recognize his contributions before his death in early this year.

van Rossem hard fork update 🍴

The hard fork initiation action was ratified at the epoch boundary on July 13, 2026 at 21:45 UTC.

Voting Result:
✅️ DReps: 77.63% / 60%
✅️ SPOs: 52.7% / 51%
✅️ CC: 6 constitutional, 1 did not vote

Following ratification, enactment will now… pic.twitter.com/GGcQSajRjm

— Intersect (@IntersectMBO) July 13, 2026

Getting Ready for Van Rossem Hard Fork

Protocol Version 11 upgrades Cardano within the Conway ledger era without introducing a new ledger era. The release adds new built-in functions that expand the capabilities of the Plutus smart contract platform. It also reduces execution costs for selected Plutus operations to improve smart contract efficiency.

The update improves ledger consistency to strengthen transaction processing across the blockchain. It also strengthens node security by introducing VRF key uniqueness protections for network operators. In addition, the release updates reference input rules and introduces new protocol primitives that expand network functionality.

The new Plutus functions and lower execution costs give developers more efficient tools for building applications on Cardano. The changes also improve network reliability before future protocol upgrades. Cardano activated Protocol Version 11 on the Preview test network in May before expanding testing to other environments. The Preprod network later completed its governance procedures and activated the same software version before the mainnet rollout.

Cardano also completed a separate Plutus Cost Model governance proposal before ratifying the van Rossem hard fork. Delegated Representatives approved the proposal with 68.57% support before its June activation.

What Comes After the Upgrade

The van Rossem hard fork lays the technical foundation for Cardano’s upcoming Dijkstra development era. The Dijkstra era will introduce the Leios scaling design to increase the network’s transaction throughput. However, Protocol Version 11 does not introduce the Leios scaling architecture during this release. Instead, the update prepares the network for the future Dijkstra era and its planned Leios implementation.

Cardano introduced decentralized community governance through the Plomin hard fork in January last year. The Plomin hard fork allowed ADA holders to vote on protocol changes, treasury spending proposals, and future network upgrades. It also allowed ADA holders to delegate their voting power to Delegated Representatives.