Charles Hoskinson, founder of the Cardano blockchain, has confirmed the integration of Cardano Improvement Proposal (CIP) 69 into the upcoming Chang hard fork. This announcement was made via X, emphasizing the adaptation to community feedback and aligning with the demands of the Cardano Foundation (CF). Hoskinson detailed the decision process and its implications: “I saw […] source: https://bitcoinist.com/cardano-founder-change-chang-hard-fork/

BNB Chain has announced the implementation of four hardforks on the opBNB testnet, scheduled between 6AM and 6:30AM UTC, on May 15th. These forthcoming changes will significantly reduce the gas cost on opBNB, by an approximate factor of 10. In preparation for these changes, all opBNB testnet nodes need to be updated to the latest version before the scheduled date and time. The upgrade prior to 6AM UTC, May 15th, is a crucial step to prepare for the hardforks and to ensure a smooth transition.

According to U.Today, Cardano enthusiasts are eagerly awaiting the Chang hard fork, which is slated for the second quarter of 2024. This significant event is seen as a pivotal moment in Cardano's progression towards decentralized governance, marking the start of minimum-viable community-run governance within the blockchain ecosystem. The Chang hard fork plays a crucial role in kickstarting the process for Cardano's governance throughout 2024, which consists of three main stages. The first stage involves the introduction of delegate representatives (DReps), who will act as elected representatives responsible for advocating the interests of the Cardano community. This innovative approach to representation allows users to delegate their ADA holdings, thereby encouraging increased engagement and participation. Following this, the Cardano Constitution Convention will be held in Buenos Aires, where governance representatives from workshops around the globe will come together. They will work collaboratively to draft the first version of the Cardano Constitution, establishing the groundwork for community-led governance principles. The final stage of this process will be a community-wide vote on the approval of the Cardano Constitution. If ratified, the constitution will become the bedrock of decentralized governance mechanisms, steering the future course of the Cardano blockchain. In addition to these governance milestones, the Chang hard fork will also bring about two significant upgrades: Chang Upgrade Number One and Chang Upgrade Number Two. As detailed in CIP-1694, these upgrades will enable the implementation of governance features, including decentralized voting mechanisms and treasury withdrawals.

According to U.Today, the Cardano ecosystem is preparing for the upcoming Chang hard fork with the release of new updates. The latest weekly report from Input Output Global (IOG) highlighted these developments, including the release of Cardano lightweight wallet Lace v.1.10. This update simplifies the user experience, reducing the time needed for wallet creation, recovery, and hard wallet onboarding. It also includes a revamped dApp-wallet interface, improved stacking views with sorting options, enhanced search, and a redesigned stake pool view. An issue that made the staking center unavailable for some users after upgrading to Lace v1.10 has also been resolved. In addition, Hydra v.0.16.0 was released this week, providing support for Cardano node v.8.9.0 and the Conway block format. The Plutus Tx compiler was updated as well, with version 1.26.0.0 set to be released soon. At the beginning of the week, Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson expressed optimism about two significant upgrades to the Cardano network, one of which is planned for this year. He stated that the Chang hard fork is imminent, as indicated by progress on SanchoNet. Hoskinson also highlighted Ouroboros Leios as a significant step towards solving the blockchain trilemma. The Chang hard fork, one of the largest since the 2022 Vasil upgrade, is scheduled for the second quarter of this year. This upgrade is expected to provide ADA holders with voting rights on proposals, significantly accelerating Cardano's path to decentralization.

According to Foresight News, Han Chang-joon, the former Chief Financial Officer of Terraform Labs, has been extradited to South Korea. The decision was made by the Montenegrin Ministry of Justice to allow South Korea to bring criminal charges against him related to financial investment services, investment, and capital market fraud. In South Korea, these crimes can result in a life sentence. Han Chang-joon and Do Kwon were arrested at Podgorica Airport in March 2023 while attempting to flee on a private plane, ending a six-month international manhunt. Terraform Labs filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code in January this year.

Cardano released a preview of its 2024 plan, including Chang hard fork, Cardano community governance, RWA, third-party DApp development, interoperability with other blockchains, community content production, new Yoroi wallet features, etc.

The Cardano Foundation announced that the code for its voting tool Cardano Ballot has been open sourced. Cardano Ballot will continue to provide free user-based voting services, and will also add support for pledge-based voting activities.

According to CoinDesk, Cardano development company Input Output Global (IOG) launched the Cardano eco-browser plug-in wallet Lace. The wallet is similar to MetaMask, in addition to accepting sending assets and interacting with DApps, the wallet also supports ADA staking and sending assets to different addresses in a single transaction.

The Cardano mainnet Vasil hard fork upgrade will take place on September 22 after successful completion of all core components and extensive testing, plus confirmation of community readiness, Cardano development team IOG said on Twitter. According to IOG, this version has higher network capacity and lower transaction costs, and will also enhance Plutus functions, enabling developers to build more efficient blockchain-based applications.