Cardano’s Biggest Upgrade in Two Years Is Coming on September 1

Cardano will roll out its Chang hard fork on September 1 to bring decentralized decision-making to the blockchain network.

Cardano, the 30th biggest blockchain network, is set to undergo its ‘Chang’ hard fork upgrade on September 1. While it was scheduled for this week, it has been pushed to next. The hard fork will mark another step in Cardano’s final roadmap stage, Voltaire. As this upgrade adds users to its governance functions, the following ones in the Voltaire stage will allow it to become a fully self-sustaining blockchain.

Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson spoke about the delay and the expected due date for the upgrade on X. “The magic of deadlines is that people who aren’t taking upgrades seriously suddenly say damn we got to get moving. When they get moving, we converge quickly.” That was about other firms, like crypto exchange Binance, still preparing to accommodate the upgrade. “Next Chang HF window, September 1st,” Hoskinson added.

Decentralized Governance Is at the Core of This Upgrade

As it kicks in in a few days, ADA holders will become part of its governance mechanisms, being able to choose representatives on the network, also called Delegate Representatives (dReps). Simultaneously, they can vote on proposals to bring technical changes to Cardano. ADA is the blockchain’s native token.

“The Chang upgrade marks a pivotal moment in the history and development of Cardano, representing the culmination of many years of preparation and consultation. It will fulfill Cardano’s promise of becoming a self-governing, completely decentralized ecosystem as defined in CIP-1694,” a blog about the upgrade published by the Cardano Foundation mentioned.

CIP-1694 is the Cardano Improvement Proposal that introduced this upgrade, allowing the network’s governance to be handled by users, dReps, and others, including a Constitutional Committee and Stake Pool Operators (SPOs).

The Cardano Foundation urged users to join its Constitutional Workshops to understand and participate in the decentralized governance journey it is taking.