Cardano Activates Protocol v11 with Community-Approved Hard Fork

Cardano's decentralized blockchain platform has activated Protocol Version 11 through the Van Rossem hard fork, marking its first network upgrade fully approved by the community through on-chain voting.

The upgrade introduces new features, including faster and cheaper smart contracts, giving developers more powerful tools to build on the blockchain. This is the first time a Cardano hard fork has been approved entirely through on-chain governance.

According to Intersect, the organization coordinating Cardano's governance process, testing showed no performance regressions after the upgrade, while security audits confirmed the safety of the new Plutus features and execution cost models. The transaction format remains unchanged, making the transition smoother for existing applications.