Cardano Activates Van Rossum Hard Fork, Upgrades to Version 11
Cardano's mainnet has upgraded to Version 11, marking one of the most significant governance milestones since its launch. The Van Rossum Hard Fork activated on July 18, introducing improvements to Plutus smart contracts while keeping the user experience unchanged for ADA holders.
The upgrade was fully approved through Cardano's on-chain governance, with Delegated Representatives, the Constitutional Committee, and stake pool operators voting under the Voltaire framework. The proposal received nearly 79% approval from Delegated Representatives, exceeding the required threshold.
Version 11 prepares Cardano for the future Ouroboros Leios scalability upgrade, which aims to increase network throughput while maintaining its security model. Input Output has confirmed that this release delivers much of the infrastructure required for that transition.