Cardano will implement the van Rossem hard fork at 21:44:51 UTC on July 18, 2026, marking a significant upgrade to the network. The governance vote passed all thresholds on July 13, and the hard fork will take effect automatically at Epoch 644's boundary.
This intra-era hard fork updates Protocol Version 11, enhancing Plutus performance and the ledger's consistency while strengthening node security. It introduces upgraded primitives, unique VRF keys, and revised reference input rules.
The upgrade also paves the way for the Dijkstra era, which will bring Ouroboros Leios to Cardano. Work on this next phase continues with prototype builds already released on the Leios testnet.
Community Engagement and Governance
Intersect, part of the Cardano ecosystem, invited community members to join a public call to witness the hard fork enactment live on July 18, 2026, starting at 21:15 UTC. The ledger prioritized this governance action over others, but no additional governance proposals were delayed or expired as a result.
