Cardano Activates Chang Upgrade, Paving The Way For Decentralized Governance

Cardano, the prominent layer-1 blockchain launched in 2017 by Ethereum co-founder Charles Hoskinson, has successfully implemented its much-anticipated “Chang” upgrade as of Sunday. This upgrade represents a significant milestone in Cardano’s journey towards decentralized governance.

The Chang upgrade introduces new features that empower ADA token holders to play an active role in the blockchain’s evolution. With the upgrade now live, users will have the ability to elect governance representatives and vote on development proposals. This move aligns with Cardano’s long-term vision of a more decentralized and user-driven network.

Chang Upgrade to Pave the Way for Decentralized Governance

The official “Cardano Improvement Proposal,” CIP-1694, outlines the new community governance framework and creates three user-led governance entities: the Constitutional Committee, Stake Pool Operators (SPOs), and Delegate Representatives (dReps). 

The Cardano Foundation, Input Output Global (IOHK), and Emurgo—the three original Cardano entities—will no longer hold the authority to initiate “hard forks” or chain upgrades in the future. Rather, the new governing groups will be given that task.

The most recent cryptocurrency project to make the switch to a more decentralised framework is Cardano. The modifications align Cardano even more with the decentralised spirit of the blockchain space, but they could also be seen as a means of deterring securities authorities by giving ADA more usefulness.

Cardano has continuously attracted interest from the cryptocurrency community despite DeFiLlama ranking it as the 28th largest blockchain, in part due to Hoskinson’s colourful demeanour and frequent outspokenness. Along with other co-founders including Vitalik Buterin, he first built the Ethereum blockchain in 2014. However, he soon abandoned the project to launch rival Cardano.

The Chang Hard Fork Consists of 2 Phases

Hard forks are essential to the evolution of any blockchain because they cause major changes that make older versions of the network useless. This also applies to the Chang hard fork, which was implemented in two stages.

An Interim Constitutional Committee was introduced in the first phase, which is currently active, to temporarily manage Cardano’s government. The purpose of this phase is to be cautious, restricting the committee’s ability to modify the blockchain’s code while the governance model for the remainder of the ecosystem is being developed.

Ninety days is when the second phase, which would fully empower the new government bodies, is scheduled to take place.

According to Cardano Foundation CTO Giorgio Zinetti, “Once everyone is onboard and well-informed, they will be ready to actively participate in governance.” Zinetti made this statement in an interview with CoinDesk.

The Voltaire age, which is centred on reaching complete decentralisation and has been in the works since Cardano’s founding, officially began with this upgrade, which is a significant turning point in the company’s plan.

Zinetti said that in their view, the platform stands as the largest layer-1 blockchain with on-chain governance. They acknowledged that while smaller players like Tezos and Polkadot already have on-chain governance, Cardano believes it would be at the top of a leaderboard for truly decentralized layer-1 blockchains.