Cardano Activates Van Rossem Hard Fork With Cheaper Plutus Operations

The Cardano blockchain network has activated the Van Rossem hard fork on mainnet, moving to Protocol Version 11 and introducing new Plutus primitives for cryptography, data access, and multi-asset smart contracts.

The upgrade was deployed after successful tests on Preview and Preprod networks, with support from delegated representatives, stake pool operators, and the Constitutional Committee.

The Van Rossem hard fork includes five main Plutus capabilities: modular exponentiation, multi-scalar multiplication over BLS12-381, dropList, a native Array type, and MaryEraValue.

These new built-ins aim to reduce the cost of expensive contract operations by making cryptographic verification, large collections, or complex native-token logic more efficient.

The upgrade was approved through Cardano's governance system, which includes delegated representatives, stake pool operators, and the Constitutional Committee. The mainnet activation followed a governance vote that cleared it for deployment on July 18 at 21:44:51 UTC.