Cardano is experiencing one of its most significant weeks in months, and not all of the news is positive. The van Rossem upgrade is progressing through Cardano’s governance process.
Meanwhile, Charles Hoskinson has defended EMURGO after Solana announced a high-profile partnership with SBI Holdings, which the Cardano community believes should have belonged to them.
UPDATE
CARDANO’S NEXT HARD FORK COULD GO LIVE THIS MONTH 😱😱😱
Cardano’s Van Rossem hard fork is currently in on-chain governance voting and could activate in July 2026.
The upgrade cuts smart contract costs, introduces ZK-ready cryptography, and marks Cardano’s first hard… pic.twitter.com/lAlfY5DtJX
— Mintern (@MinswapIntern) July 12, 2026
Additionally, the ecosystem’s DRep governance system is engaged in an increasingly contentious standoff with founding entities, resulting in the cancellation of the Cardano Summit 2026.
The central issue in all three situations is the same: Cardano’s new decentralized governance infrastructure is functioning exactly as intended, and that is part of the problem.
The Van Rossem Upgrade Is One Vote Away
van Rossem hard fork update 🍴
The hard fork initiation action was ratified at the epoch boundary on July 13, 2026 at 21:45 UTC.
Voting Result:
✅️ DReps: 77.63% / 60%
✅️ SPOs: 52.7% / 51%
✅️ CC: 6 constitutional, 1 did not voteFollowing ratification, enactment will now… pic.twitter.com/GGcQSajRjm
— Intersect (@IntersectMBO) July 13, 2026
The van Rossem upgrade is being ratified through Cardano’s on-chain governance. Think of it as the difference between a landlord deciding to renovate and tenants voting on it themselves.
The on-chain vote is close to securing the required approvals from DReps, SPOs, and the Constitutional Committee, and Intersect’s Hard Fork Working Group has recommended proceeding with the upgrade.
Protocol Version 11 delivers improvements to Plutus smart contract performance and lower execution costs for DeFi/stablecoin scripts.
It also includes pairing-based cryptographic primitives that enable native zero-knowledge proof verification, enhancements to node security, VRF key uniqueness, and stake pool hardening, as well as improved ledger consistency and updated reference input rules. It also lays groundwork for later scaling and governance-era changes.
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Hoskinson Defends EMURGO But the SBI Miss Stings
This week, SBI Holdings announced a partnership with Solana to develop on-chain financial markets in Japan, prompting questions about why Cardano missed the opportunity.
Cardano’s founder, Charles Hoskinson, refuted claims of failure, stating that historical ties don’t guarantee commercial deals and that neither EMURGO nor the Cardano Foundation is contractually bound to negotiate. He suggested using the Cardano treasury to fund a dedicated business development organization to pursue strategic partnerships.
Cardano also missed out on the OpenUSD stablecoin initiative, which includes companies like Ripple and Coinbase. EMURGO’s reduced activity is due to a focus on recovery after the SecondFi wallet security incident.
The situation is ironic, as Hoskinson is advocating for treasury-funded expansion amid difficulties in getting large proposals approved, despite ongoing engagement in the ecosystem.
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The Cardano DRep Governance Standoff Has Already Drawn Blood
The DRep system for Voltaire governance has rejected several key proposals, including a 14 million ADA request for the Cardano Summit 2026 and a revised 7.8 million ADA proposal that fell short of the required supermajority, leading to the summit’s cancellation.
Additionally, a 32.9 million ADA research fund proposal faced 86.72% opposition due to concerns about bundling, overlap with IOG’s responsibilities, and lack of detailed milestones. While IOG secured approval for six out of nine treasury proposals totaling 131.5 million ADA, the largest asks faced friction.
Hoskinson has warned that rejecting research funding could deter engineers, prompting the Cardano Foundation to encourage active voting among stake pool operators.
The governance framework established by CIP-1694 is functioning as intended, but the ongoing deadlock raises concerns about Cardano’s competitiveness.
The upcoming ratification of the van Rossem upgrade could enhance the credibility of on-chain governance, but persistent governance issues could lead to significant setbacks for Cardano.
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