Cardano Marks Nine Years with Focus on Scalability and Governance

Cardano marked nine years since its genesis block on September 23, 2017. The network has undergone significant developments in this period, including 11 protocol upgrades and changes to its staking model.

The Shelley era in 2020 introduced a community-driven stake-pool model, while the Chang and Plomin eras expanded on-chain governance. This shift means that future protocol changes are increasingly tied to formal community processes rather than development teams alone.

The treasury has grown to $1.621 billion ADA, with on-chain governance now operational. The next major phase centers on the Dijkstra era and Ouroboros Leios, aiming to increase Cardano's transaction-processing capacity by 65 times.