Cardano has activated the Van Rossem hard fork, upgrading the network to Protocol Version 11 using its first fully onchain governance process. The upgrade went live on July 18 and moved the blockchain forward without leaving the current Conway era.
Unlike earlier upgrades, Van Rossem was proposed, discussed, and approved entirely by the Cardano community through decentralized governance. This is the first time a Cardano hard fork has been completed from start to finish without direction from its founding organizations, setting a new standard for future upgrades.
The governance proposal was submitted to the Cardano mainnet in June and got the needed approvals from Delegated Representatives (DReps), the Constitutional Committee, and Stake Pool Operators (SPOs) under the Voltaire governance system. Voting ended in mid-July, with all three groups meeting the required approval levels.
Before activation, more than 93% of block production had already migrated to software compatible with Protocol Version 11, comfortably exceeding the required network readiness level. Major exchanges also completed preparations ahead of the upgrade.
van Rossem hard fork update 🍴
The van Rossem hard fork has been successfully enacted on Cardano Mainnet! 🎉
We would like to take a moment to recognise the work of the Hard Forking Working Group to get us to this moment. Coordinating ecosystem partners, SPOs, DApps,… pic.twitter.com/SSleGfA5zE
— Intersect (@IntersectMBO) July 18, 2026
The hard fork brings several improvements for developers building decentralized apps on Cardano. New Plutus features are now available in different script versions, making smart contract development more consistent. The upgrade also adds new programming functions to simplify script logic and boost performance.
Developers will benefit from lower execution costs for some on-chain operations, especially those working on DeFi apps, NFT platforms, and other decentralized services where efficient transactions matter.
Even though the network has been upgraded, Van Rossem is not a new blockchain era. It is an upgrade within the Conway era, letting Cardano add new features without leaving the current era. This helps avoid disruption for wallets, exchanges, stake pool operators, and decentralized apps.
The hard fork also sets the stage for Cardano’s next big phase, called the Dijkstra era. This phase is expected to bring in Ouroboros Leios scaling technology to greatly increase network throughput.
The upgrade is named after Max van Rossem, who contributed to Cardano’s governance and passed away in January 2026. Earlier this year, the community voted to name Protocol Version 11 in his honour through an onchain governance process.
The successful upgrade shows Cardano’s move toward community-led governance. As decision-making, software development, and network upgrades shift to the community, the project keeps moving away from a founder-led model to a fully decentralized ecosystem.
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