Cardano is launching a major update today, January 29, 2025, with the Plomin hard fork. This marks a new phase of increased decentralization for the network.
Named in honor of Cardano community member Matthew Plomin, this upgrade completes the governance framework outlined in CIP-1694. CIP-1694 is a proposal that outlines how Cardano will become a fully decentralized and community-governed blockchain.
It introduces a new system where ADA holders can participate in decision-making by either voting directly or delegating their voting power to representatives called DReps (Delegated Representatives).
This grants the community control over important network changes, including protocol updates, treasury fund allocations, and future upgrades. The proposal also gives Stake Pool Operators (SPOs) a role in governance by allowing them to approve or reject certain actions.
Plomin introduces a Constitutional Committee, which serves as a temporary safeguard to ensure smooth transitions while the community takes on more responsibility. Once fully implemented, governance decisions will be made transparently and recorded on the blockchain.
The official draft of the Cardano constitution was signed in December 2024, and soon the community will vote on it on-chain. The Plomin hard fork is a key part of this transition.
78% of the network nodes on Cardano have already updated to the latest version, while more than 60% of SPOs have also approved the upgrade, waiting for the full implementation. Once it is completed, Cardano will fully enter the Voltaire era.
Before the Voltaire era in Cardano, there were several important development phases. The journey began with the Byron era on September 29, 2017, when the Cardano blockchain was launched and the ADA cryptocurrency was introduced. This was the foundation of the network.
On July 29, 2020, the Shelley era started. This was a major step because it introduced staking, making Cardano more decentralized by allowing people to help secure the network and earn rewards.
Then came the Allegra era on December 16, 2020. This update added token locking, which was necessary for smart contracts to work properly in the future.
The Mary era followed on March 1, 2021. This phase allowed users to create and use their own custom tokens on the Cardano blockchain, making it more versatile.
On September 12, 2021, the Alonzo era was launched, and another update under Alonzo, known as Lobster, occurred on October 22, 2021. Next was the Babbage era, which started with the Vasil update on September 22, 2022.
It improved the network’s performance and scalability, making transactions faster and more efficient. Another update, called Valentine, was introduced on February 14, 2023, further improving smart contract capabilities.
The latest phase before Voltaire was the Conway era, which began on September 1, 2024, with an update called Chang 1. This brought the first features of decentralized governance, allowing users to participate in decisions about Cardano’s future.
For ADA holders, this means a new level of involvement. Anyone in the Cardano ecosystem can now propose governance actions and bring them to a vote. The community will also have the chance to officially vote on the Cardano constitution, shaping the future of the blockchain together.
