Intersect Rally Exchanges and Cardano DApps to Accelerate Readiness for Impending Chang Upgrade #1 to Occur

• Intersect, a member-based organization for the Cardano ecosystem, is pleased to report 80%+ Stake Pool Operators (SPOs) have now upgraded and are producing blocks on the latest node.
• This demonstrates readiness for Cardano to enter its pioneering governance era, bringing on-chain decision-making to all ada holders.
• To trigger the upgrade, Intersect is encouraging exchanges and DApps to continue upgrading and reporting readiness to node 9.1.0. 
• With this, the community can ensure that the Chang Upgrade #1 can reach the necessary level of upgrades to trigger the hard fork completion process.

11am (ET) Friday 16th August: Intersect, a member-based organization for the Cardano ecosystem, is today encouraging exchanges and DApps to ramp up their readiness and play their part in the upcoming Chang Upgrade #1. By self-reporting readiness, DApps are an essential part of the overall governance process being triggered, as the next stage can’t be reached without them.

Charli3 and Axo are two DApps who have already taken steps to implement and self-report on readiness, so steps are being taken in the right direction for the community. As others join these DApps ranks, they can help to create a significant step towards minimum viable on-chain governance. 

Alongside this, 78% of Stake Pool Operators (SPOs) are now on node 9.1.0, meaning they have reached the threshold for an upgrade. This is a primary example of how strong the decentralized network is, collaborating to bring in the upgrade to deliver on-chain governance for the whole community.

The minimum threshold for Exchanges to upgrade to node 9.1.0 sits at 85% of liquidity, with circa 30% liquidity ready - WhiteBIT and FMFW being among the early movers. Intersect are encouraging all other exchanges to join the SPOs in successfully working together to reach this. When they do, they will help to trigger the first of the two Chang Upgrades, ahead of the Cardano ecosystem entering Voltaire, the final era on its roadmap.

Once these thresholds get closer, the hard fork date will be set and everyone within the community will be notified this change is confirmed and in process. 

This is an incredibly exciting time for the Cardano ecosystem as once this current stage is successful, the second Chang upgrade will follow approximately 90 days later with the full specification, as detailed in CIP-1694, going into effect and unlocking the final features of on-chain governance. Once this has occurred, the community enters the Voltaire era, a time when the community will help to build the final pieces required for the Cardano network to become a self-sustaining system. 

To learn more about Cardano’s ecosystem readiness, and how to self-report readiness if you are a DApp, stay up to date with the information on the Intersect knowledge base.