Charles Hoskinson, the visionary behind the Cardano blockchain and CEO of IOHK, has openly celebrated the groundbreaking accomplishments following the Chang hard fork, which introduced on-chain governance to Cardano’s ecosystem. In a fervent social media post, Hoskinson shared his reflections on the project’s development, hailing the Chang upgrade as “one of the greatest technical feats in human history.”
Executed on September 1, 2024, the Chang hard fork represents a crucial turning point for Cardano, transforming the network into a more decentralized governance model. Hoskinson highlighted the global scale of Cardano’s operations, which now span over 100 countries and function without any central authority.
He remarked, “This dwarfs Bitcoin. It’s a phenomenon unlike anything else, and future generations will study it. Cardano has become a self-replicating, self-sustaining governance system.”
Hoskinson’s remarks also include his long-held view that Bitcoin, while historically significant, is no longer the linchpin of the crypto world. He has frequently criticized Bitcoin’s perceived limitations, suggesting that the broader cryptocurrency industry could thrive without it. He’s gone so far as to liken the Bitcoin community to a “religion,” implying that it might need to evolve to stay relevant.
These opinions have sparked criticism from prominent Bitcoin advocates, including analysts Tuur Demester and Adam Back, who have pushed back against Hoskinson’s assertions.
The Chang hard fork is more than just a technical milestone; it marks a shift towards governance powered by the community. The upgrade enables every ADA holder to propose and vote on initiatives, moving Cardano closer to its vision of a fully decentralized blockchain. The Cardano Foundation has celebrated this development as a fulfillment of its goal to create a truly decentralized network.
In addition to governance changes, the hard fork introduced Plutus v3, which enhances cryptographic capabilities and optimizes smart contract execution. However, the upgrade wasn’t without its challenges— a technical glitch related to ledger state snapshots required a hotfix to resolve synchronization issues for network nodes. The necessary patch, node version 9.1.1, is currently being finalized.
Despite the successful rollout of the Chang hard fork, the market response has been lukewarm, with ADA’s price slipping amid a general market downturn. At the time of writing, ADA was trading at around $0.329, reflecting a 12% drop over the past week. This suggests that while the technical advancements are monumental, they have yet to inspire a corresponding positive reaction from investors.
